Dream Necklace
by Coerin
Summary: Ronan has constantly had the same dream plaguing him recently and his friends are noticing he's slightly being strange but not knowing it's because of what he dreams about. Meanwhile, Sieghart was found missing and the only clues leading them are a broken air necklace and a note. The Chase was tasked to find him and possibly defeat a returning threat. [M] for Yaoi in later chapters
1. Prologue: Before it begins

A/N: So, yeah, my first fanfic and it ended up being yaoi. OTL

Anyways, since this is still a yaoi fanfic, I'll just do the regular warning. Don't like, don't read. If you hate my pairings, please keep your flames to yourself, lest Elena break your fire necklaces... or whatever element your necklace is.

Oh, and I don't own Grand Chase. KoG does.

So, if I didn't forget anything, carry on.

* * *

**Prologue – Waking Up **

_"Nnn, aah! Don't-"_

_ "Why not, Ronan? Don't you like it?"_

_ "Haa, if you keep doing that, I, I'm-"_

_ "Oh, you're almost there, aren't you?"_

_ "Fuu! Aaaah! Hah!"_

_ "Nnn, I want you, Ronan."_

_ "AAAAAAAH!"_

Ronan was unceremoniously woken up by thunder booming at his right. He yelped, falling off the other side of his bed, his long blue hair splayed in every direction. When he got up and looked at the far side of the bed, Arme was standing there. The violet magician was smiling, holding her staff with both of her hands in front of her.

"Morning, Ronan," Arme greeted him.

"Arme, what the heck was the thunder for? You could have used another sound for an alarm clock, ok?"

"Eh? But those don't work as well. Fear can wake up people pretty well, you know." She giggled. "Now get up, Knight Master's looking for us."

He sighed. "Fine. What does she need from us this early?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Ronan looked to the window behind him, seeing the yet-to-brighten morning light. Note to self, never tell Arme another of your fears ever again, he thought. He stood up and started to fix his bedding, while Arme turned towards the door. But before she left, she turned back.

"Hey, Ronan," she called.

"Yes?"

"When I went here to wake you up, you were moaning and gripping your sheets."

He froze.

"Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"You could say something like that," he replied, almost inaudibly. He looked down, his mouth not smiling.

Arme's hands gripped her staff a lot tighter. Ronan could tell she was obviously worried. Nightmares were bad enough, but how he said it was altogether different. It wasn't just a normal nocturnal fright, at least for him.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," Ronan told her, smiling.

Arme could only nod alright, leaving the room wordlessly.

Ronan sighed. He figured Arme wouldn't be able to understand if he told her. She may be bright, but her emotions always get the better of her judgement. If he told her, she might not be able to handle it quite well. Yet, he knew he won't be able to keep this his secret for long. He must tell it to that person he confided in–for everything.

He went to his wardrobe to get a change of clothes and some bath items (especially shampoo). Even though he was being called by Knight Master that early he should at least make himself presentable. But, for her to have done so, a state of emergency must have been called. It would probably be about a massive flux of monsters in the forests nearby. But Ronan had a feeling it was graver than what he was thinking right now.

He looked at the sky outside his bedroom window. There was a big mass of clouds, dark and heavy. They were ready to burst forth a torrent of rain. It was the end of the autumn season, and as such, rain is not usually a good thing. And he had a bad feeling that it wouldn't be a short squall.


	2. Chapter 1 - Gathering the Chase

A/N: This would be the actual first chapter, since that one wasn't even 1000 words to begin with, oh, and it's just so that the start of my story doesn't seem so forced.

I do not own Grand Chase, but KoG does. In case I need to reiterate myself.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Gathering the Chase**

"Hey Ronan, are you sure you're okay?" Arme inquired.

They were walking together in the hallway of the bedrooms in Kanavan Castle to summon the other people for the meeting. Arme was the one tasked by Knight Master to inform everybody, since she was the earliest to wake because of her daily meditation. She had already woken up everybody, and she and Ronan were just going to call them so they could all come together to the meeting room. But how she woke up Sieghart without having half the hallway turned into rubble was beyond Ronan's comprehension.

The unorthodox black swordsman was easily irritable, even by the smallest of things such as sweating. In the battlefield, his rage is enough for the monsters to be annihilated within seconds. But, in the castle, it was something that made everyone walk on eggshells around him. Nevertheless, Ronan was able to learn from his sword technique, and his lessons made Ronan more efficient handling his blade.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern either way, Arme," Ronan replied.

"Alright then, suit yourself."

Arme knocked at the next door to her left. After a moment, a blonde elf opened the door. Arme waved a hand to her, and she waved back. She went out the door and closed it behind her. Her fine elven archer garb was not just easy to move in, but quite verdant in its shade.

"Hi Lire. You ready?" Arme asked.

"Yep. Oh, how about I go and call Ryan? He tends to be very particular with his hair in the morning. I could speed things up," Lire suggested.

"That's a good idea. Hey, Ronan, what if we call people individually, too?"

"All right, that could work," he agreed. "Then I guess I'll be heading for Lass then."

"And Jin too," Lire added.

"Oh, right,"

"Then I'll be calling Mari, Elesis and Amy then. Okay, see you guys at the meeting room," Arme called. She and Lire started to dash off when Ronan suddenly noticed something.

"Huh, wait!" Ronan yelled. Both of the girls looked back at him.

"What is it?" Arme called.

"What about Master Sieghart?"

Arme stood straight to face him. She looked back once at Lire, and the blonde elf nodded.

"Ronan, Sieghart is the subject of our meeting today," she said.

"What?"

"Sieghart was kidnapped just last night," Lire said.

Ronan was in downright shock. Such a thing was impossible, to some degree. "Wha- How?" he struggled to ask.

"We don't know for certain. But everything will be explained at the meeting. I just happened to be the one to find out first and report to Knight Master. She had made a preliminary investigation already and would tell us the details later." Lire assured him.

Ronan could only nod. "All right, I'll meet you guys later."

In his mind, the rain was starting to fall.

Ronan was standing in front of the door of Lass' room. Once, he looked to the side, looking for the place that he would go to next. When he realized what he was doing, he shook his head and returned his sight to the door in front of him.

"Lass, you up yet?" he called.

It was a bad idea to knock, since Lass was always leaving traps everywhere in his territory. Even the door could spring a thousand piercing needles, turning whoever was in front into a living pincushion. The only area he didn't place on was the hallway, for courtesy he says. Ronan waited for a moment before sighing. If Arme woke him up, then he's probably waiting somewhere in the hallway right now.

"Don't tell me we're doing this again," he muttered before saying, "Rune Flare!"

A shining light started to revolve around Ronan. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. Lass was usually a quiet person, but Ronan was one of the few people to see his more playful side. And one of his favorite games was hide-and-seek, in the hallway. The magic knight's hands tensed as he waited for a single sound. He heard a scuffle from the potted plant behind him, slightly to the left. He quickly raised his right fist to that direction to aim.

"Psychic Force!"

The light expanded, tracing its way from his knuckles to his desired target, exploding twice in brilliant flashes. It cleared after a second, revealing the shadow image of a log, the plant nowhere to be seen. He was irked, being a little late. He lifted his right hand up to summon another rune flare, when a hand came out from under his right arm and pressed a dagger to his neck.

"It's bad to destroy castle property, Ronan. You of all people should know that," Lass chided him from behind.

Ronan could feel the assassin's breath upon his neck. He couldn't move either, since Lass' other hand was placed around his abdomen, stopping his other arm. "Lass, please, let go of me," he begged.

"Oh? Before that, I think a little punishment," Lass' voice got nearer, "is in order."

Ronan felt a nip on his ear and couldn't help yelping a little. The knife dropped from his neck and he was allowed to fall down on the floor on all fours. When he had calmed himself, he looked at Lass, more irked than he was before. A small smirk was plastered on the white-haired boy's face. His black sleeveless linen garb loosely covered his pale body.

"Lass, you have gone too far this time! I'm not a girl, so stop harassing me!" he said.

The white-haired assassin walked around to his front, and slumped himself to the wall behind. "But you sure do act like one. You've become quite physically sensitive."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean," he half-kneeled in front of Ronan and held the bluenet's chin with a thumb and pointer, "that you react to this."

Ronan quickly swiped the hand off as soon as Lass finished talking, his cheeks becoming reddish.

"Yup, something's really wrong with you. Might want to tell?" Lass asked. He stood up and crossed his arms.

Ronan looked down on the red carpet covering the marble floor. "Figured you would catch on quick. You're quite keen with these kinds of things. But, maybe later. I still need to call Jin for the briefing this morning." Then, he looked at Lass, his brows furrowed. "And, seriously, stop harassing me. Yes, you're really handsome, but I'm not falling for you."

"Handsome? Hey, it's not like I did that because I wanted to. You were looking at Jin's room, so I kind of got curious as to why and tested something. Heh, care to enlighten me?"

Lass helped Ronan to stand up, and they walked towards Jin's room without another word. At the door, Ronan was hesitating to knock. Lass sighed and took it upon himself to place his knuckle on the varnished wood.

"Hey Jin, meeting's going to start, you ready?" Lass shouted.

No answer came from inside. After a moment, Ronan muttered, "Sorry."

"Figures. It's about Jin, then?" Lass asked.

"He's in it."

"Interesting. Tell me later. Right now, he's taking too long," he looked at the doorknob, "His door's open. Want to check?"

"What?! No!"

"What? Can't even look at him straight?"

Ronan was getting flustered. "I can, but-"

"Then, let's go," he turned to the door, "Hey Jin, we're going in."

Before he could object, Lass grabbed the magic knight by the wrist as he opened the door and went inside Jin's room. Ronan quickly closed his eyes, hiding himself behind Lass as soon as he passed through the doorway.

"You have got to be kidding me," Lass said.

Ronan peeked from behind Lass, and ended up wishing he didn't. His face flushed and his hands shook, holding on the assassin's shoulders. Like Arme, Jin also practiced meditation. The difference is that the former floats, while the latter strips down to the waist. The magic knight only saw a glimpse of the fighter sitting on the floor, but seeing his body was altogether a different thing.

"Jin, if you didn't hear me, I said the meeting's about to start," Lass called, for the second time. Ronan noted that he tends to get irritated when he has to repeat himself.

"I know. I heard you. Please wait a moment," the redhead replied calmly, his eyes still closed.

"Sorry, don't want to. Ronan, you wait for him," Lass said, turning back to the door.

"Wait, what? Lass, you can't leave me here," Ronan almost yelled. The door slammed in front of him, and he added, "Alone."

Ronan fell down on his knees. He looked behind him and swallowed hard. Save for his black flame pants, Jin was completely bare of any clothing. As expected of one who practices martial arts, his body is always… more than just fit. Just looking at him, Ronan could feel his heart beat so loud in his chest. Even if he's not looking back…

Ronan bawled over on the floor. Lass was right. He was definitely acting like a girl. In normal circumstances, his composure won't be broken so fast by a shirtless (admittedly hot) guy in front of him. He could perfectly imagine Jin in his mind, and for him it was torture. He can't get him out of his head. Jin's body kept flashing beneath his closed eyes. He was picturing Jin's face, chiseled abdomen, unruly scarlet hair, and basically everything else. Both of his hands raked his hair and his body was lying on its side.

"Hey Ronan, you alright?" Jin asked.

Ronan looked up and the first thing he saw was a pair of crimson eyes looking worriedly at him. Then, he looked down and saw his abs. He looked to his left and saw a hand pressed beside his head. Ronan could feel heat rushing through his face. He wanted to move, but he was somehow unable to.

"Too close…" the magic knight muttered.

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

Jin raised himself to let Ronan prop his body by the elbows. After the fighter concluded he would be fine, he stood up to get a black sleeveless midriff shirt and white cloth jacket from his wardrobe. After wearing the clothes, he waited a moment to let Ronan catch his breath.

"So, meeting, right?" Jin asked.

Ronan nodded, still breathing a bit faster than normal. Jin held out his hand in front of Ronan. The bluenet was hesitant to accept, but he did. A warm feeling spread from that slight touch. Ronan kept his head low, trying to hide the returning blush in his cheeks.

The redhead slowly moved his hand towards the bluenet's shoulder. "Ronan, are you sure yo-"

With a sudden burst of smoke, Lass suddenly materialized in front of the two guys. Ronan couldn't help being surprised, jerking away from the assassin. Jin simply put both of his hands on his waist.

"I hate to break the moment, but we are already later than everyone. So, "he looked at Jin blankly, "can we go now?"

"Yes, I'm done. Thank you for waiting."

"Good. Now let's get going."

Lass opened the door and Jin was the first one that went out. Ronan looked at the white-haired assassin and saw him holding down a stifle.

"What's so funny?" Ronan asked.

"Geez, Ronan. That scene was simply priceless."

"What?!"

"Seeing you get so worked up about him was definitely worth going invisible."

"Lass, why the heck?"

Lass just laughed, walking out of the room. Ronan soon followed, but not before summoning another rune flare. That thousand-year-old boy deserves a beating, he thought.

* * *

A/N: Sorry, the yaoi would still be non-existent until Ronan tells us what really happens in his dreams. It's how the story goes, and I'm just writing it down from my head. I just hope the Lass play won't throw you off...


	3. Chapter 2 - Quest Briefing

**Chapter 2 – Quest Briefing **

"Elesis?" Arme called.

"Present. You have two eyes, can't you see me?" the long-haired redhead snapped. She and Arme weren't always in pleasant agreement.

"No, I can't. I'll strain them if I look," Arme quipped, "Lire?"

"Here. And I'd be happier if you would stop fighting, please?"

"Teehee, alright. Ronan?"

"Present."

"Lass?"

The assassin raised his hand. Arme went on with the roll call until all who were summoned were ticked off from the list she held.

"Okay, Knight Master. Everyone's here," Arme said to the blonde woman in red armor beside her. She was sitting at the head of the long table where everyone was.

"Thank you, Arme. Now, please take your seat so we may begin," she told the violet mage.

Arme nodded and walked off to the third seat on the right side, between Lire and Amy.

"I know Lire and Arme already told you why I called you here, but let me just say it again," Knight Master said. "Last night, Sieghart was discovered to be missing from his room. But, it wasn't just him taking a little walk around the town or some such trifle. Lire, being an elf, had sensed some magic traces from Sieghart's room when she went to look for him."

"I was going to ask him for boy advice," Lire admitted.

"Wait, what? Why didn'cha ask us first?" Ryan asked. The spiky orange-haired elf stood up a bit.

"Ehem!" Knight Master interjected.

Ryan slumped back down on his seat. Lire looked down at her lap, hiding a blush on her cheeks.

"Sheesh, he's so dense," Lass whispered to Ronan, who chuckled at the remark.

"Anyways, as I was saying. Lire quickly reported the matter, and we had it investigated. The results of it will be given by Mari. This is a very serious matter that needs immediate attention."

"Huh, why so? I mean, it's not the first time he disappeared without letting us know, right?" Amy asked. The dancer was twirling a lock of her pink hair while looking at the table.

"It's because those magic traces in his room are enough reason for me to believe he was kidnapped," Mari answered. She had braided her blue hair and let it fall over her right shoulder. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her. "My findings have concluded that the kidnapper's mana was of a violet aura, possibly from the Violet Mage Guild."

Everyone looked at Arme, except for Mari and Knight Master. She felt flustered with all the attention everyone's giving her. "I-I'm not a suspect!" she shouted. If they didn't know her better, they would have told her guilty and went off with her head.

"Though Arme has been busy with alchemical experimentation, they were not from any of her recent exploits," Mari added.

"Then who is it from?" Ronan asked.

"Like I said, it wasn't Arme's doing. But, I had found important items in Sieghart's room that may suggest who our culprit is." Mari took out something from her pocket. A small package wrapped with plain paper. "I think it would be best for all of you to see it as well."

She slowly opened the paper, careful not to add any other creases to what were already there. Arme was the first one to have an adverse reaction to it.

"That… That's…" she mumbled. She covered her mouth with her hands, but they were also trembling.

It was an air necklace, broken. The gem in the middle that was meant to hold some power of Sylph, the wind spirit, contained a massive crack down the middle. Some of it had also chipped off. The chain had also snapped at the right side. The Chase only knew one person to ever do such a thing with a necklace, Elena. But the Violet Mage Guild's High Mage had been defeated long ago, after she fought the Chase, being turned into the evil being Kamiki by the power of Kaze'aze.

Lass noticed words on the paper, written in purple ink, and moved the necklace out to read it. "The highlander is with me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." He slumped back down and looked at Mari. "So, he WAS kidnapped."

"Presumably," the La Geas restated, "Not to mention no one was given information outside our group of what had been the fate of Elena."

"This is bad," Ryan muttered.

"I can only agree with Ryan. Whoever did this must have a malevolent reason to do so," Jin seconded.

There was a moment of silence at the table. The only sound came from Amy drumming to a melody on the wood with her fingers on her right hand. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.

"As with any investigation, I think it is obvious what we should do next. Look for something else that can give us a hint to the right direction," Mari spoke.

Everyone nodded. Arme raised her hand.

"Yes, Arme?" Knight Master noted.

"Uhmmm, I think I can help. I might be able to determine our suspect's whereabouts before leaving the package in Master Sieghart's room."

"Tracing the mana trail?" Lire asked, and the violet mage nodded.

"Alright, you could do that, and the rest of us can begin getting ready with supplies," Elesis stated. Upon hearing her, Arme felt a little devilish.

"You're awfully silent today, Ms. Sieghart. I was expecting you'd be a little louder, what with your grandfather gone and all" she called, smirking a little.

"What? Why, you…"

"Oh, no snarky remark to back you up?" Apparently, everyone else knew where this was going, but it was one of the more entertaining things they had at the castle. Lire just pressed a hand to her face. And everyone else's eyes were at the redheaded blade-girl and the violet mage.

"Heh, whatever doggie. Just go do what a Mana Retriever's supposed to do."

Arme fisted her hand and stood up. "Well excuse me, but this retriever can hit you with a meteor from up high. Not a meteorite. Oh wait, you don't know the difference.

Elesis slammed the table with both palms. "And you will be responsible for the death toll for the kingdom of Kanavan, genius."

"No, you, for pushing me."

"No, you!"

"NO! YOU!"

Both Lass and Ronan sighed. The two girls kept on fighting, but they soon started having a conversation of their own.

"Sigh, childish as always," Ronan started.

"Yeah, but that's their charm, no?" Lass replied.

"I can agree with that."

Lass fell quiet for a while, then shifted his seat towards Ronan.

"Wait, aren't you with Elesis? The way you acted around Jin, I know something's up. But, wouldn't it get complicated?" the assassin whispered.

Ronan looked down and his bangs darkened his features. He and Elesis were a secret couple, since Sieghart, who was the red sword-girl's apparent grandfather, would hardly approve of Ronan for some strange reason. Whenever they would have a chance, Ronan would tell his friends he and Elesis would go on a date and ask for them to cover so the Executioner won't find out. On their last date the week before was the first time they had kissed, chaste and sweet. But then…

" I wouldn't really mind if you ended up being gay for him and all," Lass started, "but you do realize you'd have to-"

"She broke up with me."

It took a moment for it to sink in with Lass.

"Wait, what? When?"

"I'll tell you what happened later. As with the reason for my infatuation, these dreams I'm having…" Ronan's hands were already white, gripping the handles of his chair so hard. He was shaking, unnoticeably. He was biting his lower lip already, trying to stop himself.

"Alright, just calm down for now," Lass told him. It wasn't the best reply, but it was the only one he could think of saying to the bluenet.

Ronan looked at him and nodded, easing his hold on the handles.

"How come they're not here?" Jin asked. Everyone, even the two who were bickering, had stopped, noticing his question. They asked him silently, who?

"The demons, I mean," he added.

"I didn't bother the four of them anymore because it's not their problem to begin with," Knight Master answered.

"How so? They're part of the Chase, aren't they?" Amy asked.

"Not exactly. They're more like people whose goals have come to intersect a little with ours. But, to our problems, they won't give the slightest attention," Mari commented.

"Basic'ly, we can't rely on them on this one," Ryan said, crossing his arms.

Knight Master nodded. But something else bugged the assassin.

"Having much experience with such, I think this is a trap," he stated.

"How so?" Arme asked him.

"I can agree. This is quite an ominous item, not exactly an ordinary item you would get from the trash can and consider evidence," Ronan said.

Everyone fell silent.

"Well, we're not going to let him remain someone's prisoner or bargaining chip now, are we?" Elesis asked.

"Well, even if he is a pain to most of us, including you Elesis, he is still a part of the team and taught us well on how to fight," Lire told her. Everyone could only agree.

"Now, any more questions?" Knight Master scanned the room for indications. "None? Good. I expect you all to be ready by the time Arme finishes examining the necklace. Meeting adjourned."

Mari placed the necklace back in the paper, folded it back up, and handed it to her gingerly.

Lass tapped Ronan from behind, and the magic knight looked behind him to face the assassin. "I'll meet you in your room when I'm done packing."

Ronan nodded. While everyone was filing out from the room, he remained seated, twiddling his fingers. Knight Master noticed him staying behind, but thought against bothering him when he's in such a thoughtful state.

Ronan was replaying everything in his head. Their first kiss, during the sunset when he brought her to the docks, how much courage it took him to finally make this move. Then, what she said afterwards, how he felt about her words, how he went back home with a worse feeling. And finally, how he flopped in bed, quickly drifting off to sleep, and saw that dream for the first time.


	4. Chapter 3 - Answered Questions

**Chapter 3 – Answered Questions**

When Ronan had opened the door of his room, he had almost stumbled back upon finding Lass lying on his bed.

"Took you long enough," Lass told him, pulling one knee and leaning an arm to it. "Then again, maybe I was just too quick on fixing my stuff."

"Maybe both," Ronan said, closing the door behind him. He went to his wardrobe to get clothes to be packed, only to find another surprise.

"Oh, right. I took the liberty of doing yours, too." Lass' smile was apparent.

"What the-?! Are they even the ones I'd want to bring? Where did you put them?" Ronan barraged the string of questions to the white-haired boy's face.

Lass pointed to a trunk he had placed beside the door that Ronan didn't notice when he walked in. The magic knight paced towards it, and opened it. What he found inside might have popped a vein in his temple.

"Lass, I'm going to kill you," Ronan growled, trying to suppress his voice.

"Heh, bring it on newbie," Lass called, gesturing with his hand.

Ronan brought out a set of clothing on a hangar in front of the smirking assassin. "A female Cheerleader's outfit?! You probably got this from one of the girls. And you obviously messed up in picking all of my clothes."

"Well, what could a bored guy do but play a prank on his bestfriend," Lass said. He crossed his legs and turned serious. "Isn't it about time you told me everything."

Ronan stopped fiddling with the trunk. He looked around, facing the cold stare of the assassin. He then proceeded to sit facing Lass, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Alright. The preparations can probably wait."

_About eight days ago, beside the iron gate of Kanavan Castle, a lone bluenet was leaning at the stone wall, waiting for his girlfriend…_

Ronan was enjoying the feeling of the cool east breeze that wiped away the heat from the clear sun. He had taken off the battle gear and was wearing a cobalt padded vest over a plaid blue shirt, and dark denim pants.

Master Sieghart had gone down to the nearby plains that day. It wasn't a quest, but sometimes the black swordsman would go out to just sit on the grass to get away from the noise in the castle. And because of that, Ronan had felt a little optimistic about taking Elesis on a date that afternoon. His Red could only happily agree to him. Red was a nickname that Sieghart used on her granddaughter to tease her. But Ronan had also adopted it, though using it for endearment.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Elesis called to him as she came out from the castle gate.

She had discarded the usual heavy armor she wore in battle, and was wearing a simple pink blouse and a rose red skirt. She also wore a scarlet jacket and the blue-green satchel he had gifted her on their last date. He would have gotten a purple one, but that was already Arme's color and was not a very good idea. He just figured she needed a bit more of a palette in her wardrobe and decided to give her a gift not in red when they went out. So far, she was always enthusiastic about the things Ronan gave her.

"It's fine. I wasn't waiting that long," he replied.

He held her hand and they turned to walk towards the town when someone called from behind them, "Don't get so comfy. He might see the both of you unexpectedly, no?"

Lass had appeared right behind them, as always. He never really seemed to make any footfalls whenever he walked, even on uneven terrain.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful," Elesis assured.

"Alright, whatever you say. I'll just keep an eye on you if I can. I'm helping Arme get some magical supplies today, though." A hint of a smile was on the white-haired boy's face. Ronan could tell it might just be more than simply shopping for lizard tails.

The assassin ran his way towards the town. Arme was probably there already. The couple looked at each other, and the redhead giggled. The bluenet couldn't help smiling whenever she did. They rejoined their hands, and went past the trees lining their path.

By Elesis' request, they went to her favorite restaurant, The Chewy Drillmon. Ronan would always allow her to pick a place for their date first, being the gentleman that he is. It was quite a classy restaurant, featuring mostly cuisine with meat in red sauces, but no drillmon. The main reason Elesis liked it there is because of what had happened to her, Lire and Arme at the Gorge of Oath. Arme was so hungry, she even thought of eating a drillmon she had flamed. Elesis and Lire had to keep her off until they reached the border of Kanavan. Despite their quarrels, Ronan knew her girlfriend was very fond of her first two companions in the Chase.

The final bill consisted of two Kirby-rare steaks, Sidtri-style buffalo wings, filet mignon ala Pip, Luna-diced fruit salad, and Hanana-blend four season fruit shake. The powers of pets were utilized in this restaurant to make the dishes either more flavorful or served efficiently. Ronan took out his wallet and was already about to pay.

"Uhm, Ronan, is it really alright?" Elesis asked.

"Hmm? It's fine. I can pay for it," Ronan replied, giving a gentle smile.

They headed out of The Chewy Drillmon, and Ronan was leading Elesis to their next destination.

"Ronan, where are we headed now?"

"Don't worry, Red. I'm sure you'll like what I'll show you."

The setting sun had colored the sky a deep orange. Ronan figured there would be a little more time before Sieghart would come back at dusk. He had led her towards the pier and had her walk until the end of the platform for the ship's passengers. All the ships came and went at the morning and the evening, but not in between, so there was no one to disturb them.

The couple sat on the edge of the wooden platform and watched as the sun dipped down on the azure waves. Golden bits spread from the sinking ball of flame, being reflected by the ever-flowing ocean's waters. Elesis leaned her head against Ronan's shoulder, and Ronan held her closer hand. They both looked at each other. He had always seen Elesis as very strong, firm, resilient, proud, and beautiful. He was leaning in, and so was she. And after a moment, their lips touched. It was gentle, but heartfelt. When Ronan broke away, he saw tears falling down on Elesis' face.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it if you didn't like it," he tried to comfort her.

"No, it's not that. It's just that, it's so hard to tell you this," she replied.

"Tell me what?" But, Ronan was already forming conclusions on his head. And he dreaded one of them.

"Ronan, I'm sorry. I know you've been gentle with me all this time, and that you'd always make me smile whenever we see each other, but…"

"But?" He didn't want her to say it. And yet, he knew she would.

"Ronan, I have to break up with you."

Ronan's face fell. For a moment, Elesis thought he was angry and tried to speak out that it wasn't like she didn't like him anymore or anything. But, her voice won't come out. And she could only continue stifling her tears. Until he held her in his arms.

"Shhh, you don't need to cry," Ronan told her.

"But, I'm breaking up with you even though- Even though-" she tried to say.

"It's alright. I know it's hard for you, hiding from your grandfather and everything. But, if this really needs to be done, I won't stop you."

And with that, Elesis burst out crying on Ronan's shoulder. The sun was almost gone now, but Ronan wasn't done yet. He reached for his right vest pocket and brought out a foldable sunny yellow hairband.

"Elesis, would you look at me for a bit?" he asked.

She let go of him and faced him. He unfolded the hairband and slipped it on over Elesis' crimson hair. And when he was done, he looked at her, giving a gentle smile.

"I love you, Red. I want you to know that."

Elesis nodded, hugged him by the neck, and said, "I love you, too."

The sun had disappeared, and the sky was now a deep blue. A lone star was shining in Ronan's field of vision. He could smell salt in the air; salt of the sea, of the ocean, of tears.

_ And they returned to the castle still joining hands, but this time, only the boy showed a smiling face. He didn't want to break in front of her…_

"So, you really did break up, huh?" Lass mused.

Ronan could only nod. He couldn't talk anymore. His voice had already started to break when he was telling the pier part.

"Sheesh, may I just tell you that you're such a weak guy."

"Huh?" Ronan asked.

"Why didn't you fight for it? Why didn't you tell her you'll make sure your relationship would always stay?"

"I couldn't force her to. It's her choice, not mine."

"Sigh, Ronan, you really need some backbone."

"Yeah…" Ronan couldn't think properly. He was still too flooded by sad thoughts after retelling the fallout between Elesis and him.

"Oh, which reminds me," Lass restarted, "you said something about a dream involving Jin?"

Upon hearing the words 'dream' and 'Jin', he had suddenly fell sideways on the floor and grabbed his hair with both hands.

"AAAAH! Don't remind me of what happened in that dream. It's too embarrassing!" Ronan shouted.

"C'mon. You promised to tell. I won't understand it like this," Lass said to him. He leaped out of the bed and bent down over Ronan. He grabbed both of the bluenet's hands and pinned down the right leg with both of his. When Ronan realized what had happened, his face instantly flushed.

"Merciful Gaia, Lass let go of me!" Ronan struggled to break free, but the assassin was pinning him down hard.

"Not until I know what happened in that shameful dream of yours," Lass retorted.

"Lass, what are you doing?!" Arme called from behind them.

Both guys looked at the door, and saw a trembling violet mage holding her staff with both hands.

"Arme, you're just in time. Quick, I need help," Lass called. Ronan knew what he was up to and adrenaline made his struggling more violent.

"Not until I know what you were about to do to Ronan," Arme told him.

"Not enough time. If Ronan breaks free I won't be able to learn the memory of his dream anymore." And with that, Arme understood what Lass was up to. She disregarded his reasons, since she'll find out when she saw the memory for herself. She went around and pointed her staff at Ronan's forehead. "You have two keywords. 'Jin' and 'dream'," Lass said to her.

She heard the fighter's name and wondered why it was there, but put it in the back of her mind. She concentrated her mana on the tip of her staff. A blue ray shot from it and stuck on Ronan's forehead. Ronan knew there was no use struggling after this, and slumped down his hands. He tried hard not to whimper as his memory was being copied. The blue ray of mana returned to Arme's staff as a red one. After a few moments, Arme opened her eyes. Lass looked at her, expecting a quick summary of events, but instead, Arme's face went deep scarlet and she fainted. Lass could only smirk soundly.

"Uh, shouldn't you be worried about what happened to Arme?" Ronan asked.

"No, she's alright," Lass replied, "She probably just had a sensory overload. My, I even forgot she liked those kinds of stuff."

"What do you mean?"

Lass let himself up and crossed his hands, "It means that you are one dirty-minded magic knight."

"PSYCHIC FORCE!"

The energy hit Lass squarely on the face. When Ronan looked, Lass was knocked out and leaning on the door. Ronan figured that the thousand-year-old boy totally deserved that beating.


	5. Chapter 4 - Another Recollection

A/N: This is a yaoi chapter. Skip if you don't like it. It just mainly tells that Ronan dreams of Jin doing stuff to him.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Another Recollection**

_There is a deep black expanse all around you. It's not something, but it's also not nothing. Provided the right circumstances, you can feel a floor right beneath you or a wall by your side. But, everything is plain black. There is nothing to see, so you close your eyes…_

"Ronan," a voice calls to you from above.

It's a male voice, one that you are very familiar with. You open your eyes and see his face looking down at you. A pair of crimson eyes looks at you worriedly. He's biting his lip and a little soon after, he exhales. You feel his warm breath hitting your chest. You look down and see that both of you are devoid of any clothing. One of his knees is placed between your legs. His hands are holding your wrists high above your head. You look up and feel your face heating up, realizing where this is going.

"Um, Jin, this is quite embarrassing for me," you say to him, trying to break free.

"Don't worry, we're alone right now," he replies.

You try to face him. "But Jin, I–"

"I'm sorry, Ronan. I can't help it anymore."

He plunges towards you, meeting your lips with his. You open your mouth in surprise and let him get his tongue in. You could feel it moving in your mouth, interacting with your own, and sharing with your saliva. Unexpectedly, you lose your strength and want him to get deeper in, deepen your kiss. Your eyes shut again, and you can feel him forcing you down on the soft bed you just realized was beneath you. His hand on your left wrist moves, placing itself down to your cheek. It traces its way down your neck and chest, going even lower. He reaches your Tyrfing, and you give out a muffled moan. A single tear goes down your right eye. And he pulls back.

You look at him, but he looked scared all of a sudden. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.

"I'm very sorry, Ronan. I just couldn't control myself there."

He kept silent for a while. You look at him staring at the side of your room, away from you. You try to tell him what you want, but your voice won't respond.

"I should leave," he says, still not looking at you.

He starts to stand up, turning his back to you. He heads for the door, but you quickly hold on to his left hand. You are half-leaning, half-sitting on the corner of the bed, where you can reach him.

"Please," you start to say. He waits for you. "I… I want you to do it, Jin."

He turns back around to look at you, yet again with a worried expression. He kneels in front of you, the same level as your head.

"Are you sure?" he asks you, candlelight shining on the right side of his face.

You hesitate, shutting your eyes and bowing your head. Then, you look at him and nod once. You call his name and lean forward. Forgetting you are on the edge of the bed, your hand slips.

But, he catches you by your waist before you hit the floor. Instinctively, you hold on to him, embracing him tight.

"Please, Jin," you say to him from his shoulder.

He lifts you and you fall back down on the bed on your back. Once again, he is right above you. But, he is hesitating.

"I…might lose control again," he mutters.

You take hold of his left wrist. He looks at you, surprised, but not fighting you. You open your mouth and insert his index and middle finger in. He could only look as you play with his digits, sucking them like lollipops. He moves towards you and starts to nip at your collarbone. You gasp, pain coming from your neck. You could feel his breath right above the pain. He goes lower, to your chest and moves toward the right. His fingers stop you from moaning, feeling him bite at your right nipple while using his other hand on the left.

You release his fingers, wet with your saliva, and find him going even lower. Your breathing is already ragged. With his dry hand, he starts to stroke your hardening member. You make a small sound, and throw your head back. He puts a single digit in you, and you gasp. He stops stroking, enough for you to look down, before taking your member in with his mouth. You can feel his tongue underneath the shaft and his finger deep in you. Soon enough, he adds another finger and you try to restrain yourself from yelping.

"H-AAAAAAH!" you scream. He hit something in you, giving you intense pain. But, somehow, you liked it too. "Jin…" you mutter, unable to say anything else.

You rake your hands through his hair, pushing him to go faster. The tension below is driving you crazy. You want release.

"Ahhh!, Jin, I'm gonna…" you warn him.

He lets go and pinches the tip with his wet hand. You wince from being prevented to let it out.

"Ngggh, Jin. Why did y-"

He looks at you with a glassy expression. "Ronan, let's come together."

He spreads your legs, and lines up his already hard member. You catch a glimpse and feel scared of how big it is. You figured it would tear you. But before you could object, he puts it in down to the hilt. Your body is stuck to the bed. You can't close your mouth nor make a sound. But you feel the intense pain, and your eyes start to water.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Ronan," Jin quickly apologizes.

He starts to pull away, but you grab his hand and quickly pull him near you. You're panting very hard and the tear in your eye is already starting to form.

"Jin," you put both of your hands on his back, "please move."

He does so, slowly at first. Each thrust he makes takes you to the edge, making you gasp a lot. He goes faster after a while, finding it easier for him to penetrate you now that you're loose. With every push, he goes deeper in, and soon enough he hits it again, and you cry out in a sheer mixture of pleasure and pain.

"That spot. Please, Jin. Hit me there," you plead to him.

He goes in harder and you start scraping his back to grip him. Your moans and his groans mix harmoniously. You look at him, though your vision is blurry and you could only make out his face in a whirl of shapes. You feel a bursting sensation in your groin, and you try your hardest to pull back, not wanting to end just yet.

"J-Jin! I… I'm-"

He takes you in a deep kiss again. You let out a muffled gasp as you start coming. You could feel his member throbbing in you, and he pushes you down harder when he releases inside of you.

_And it stops there, you are back in the dark. You open your eyes and find your hands paler and thinner than a while ago. It had ended, and you feel slightly disgusted. Disgusted, but satisfied that you learned what you needed to know…_

"Ugh, I feel so dirty," Lass griped, sitting up on Ronan's bed after that memory recollection he asked Arme to show him.

"You know, I studied this form of magic for investigatory purposes. Not to find out other people's secrets," Arme told him angrily.

"It's still for investigation. You know that Ronan's been all messed up today, right?"

She sighed. "Yeah, but, I didn't need to see that." She looks down, trying to hide her scarlet face.

"Right, I'm still here and you're already talking about me," Ronan told both of them, his hands crossed over his chest.

They could only look at him with their poker faces.

"So this was the thing that you've been hiding from me when I asked you this morning?!" Arme almost shouted.

Ronan put a hand to his forehead and groaned. "It's not something I can be proud of, okay? And I thought you'd think something bad about me."

"Well, true that we're thinking of something bad," Lass interjected, "But that doesn't mean we'd think of you any less just because of this."

"Honestly?"

The assassin nodded. "My teasing methods are flexible."

Ronan really wanted to hit Lass on the head right now. He sighed to calm himself down. "Anyway, I figured Arme didn't go here just to help you extract an unexpected fantasy I had in my head," the magic knight quipped.

"Oh, right. - Good thing you were the last people I went to tell this. - I found two places we could start finding our kidnapper's whereabouts from," Arme stated.

"Well, where are they?" Lass asked.

"The Violet Mage Guild Headquarters and… Kamiki's Castle."

"Huh, so it does have something to do with the Necklace Breaker."

"Thanks, Arme. We'll get ready quickly," Ronan replied.

Arme nodded. "But…"

"What is it?"

"Your dream… It seemed too real to just be one," Lass told him. The violet mage could only agree.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Boy Trip

**Chapter 5 – The Boy Trip**

"Jus' great. Split the teams to girls 'n' boys! An' we 'ave ta go to the more dangerous area," Ryan grumbled, dragging his axe on the ground. He picked it as his main weapon, carrying his dismantled warpike on the sides of his waist.

The four of them, him, Ronan, Lass, and Jin had no say in the matter when Knight Master ordered for them to split in two groups upon Mari's advice to hasten the investigation. They figured time was of the essence, but how she grouped them was what irritated half of their group.

"It's probably for the better, Ry," Jin told him. He was wearing a gauntlet on his right hand and his chammagon was securely fastened behind his back, "I mean, there must be a good reason for this grouping."

"Yeah, so that you won't get distracted by the girls," Lass told them stoically, the scabbard of his nodachi on his right hip and a tool bag on his left.

The druid and the fighter looked back at him, glaring. Lass simply put both of his hands behind his back and gazed at the clear sky above him. They were passing through a forest that wasn't too dense, allowing light to filter through.

"You better enjoy the scenery while we still have it," Lass said to them.

Ryan, being the nature-lover that he is, shut up and looked at his environment and smiled. Jin was also quite calmed realizing how peaceful it was where they were. They figured they should take Lass' advice. Kamiki's Castle wouldn't look as good as this. Last time they checked, it didn't look like a castle at all. It was more like a desolate wasteland with dark spires piercing from the ground everywhere.

The redhead and the oranget kept a brisk pace moving forward, but Lass looked back to check on someone else, despite expecting it already. Ronan kept his head down and moved in short steps to keep behind from everyone else. The sword he placed inside the shield he held looked ready to fall, despite having a grip lock. His Tyrfing sword didn't look so secure in his left hip as well. Lass could only sigh as he waited for the magic knight to reach him.

"Seriously, Ronan, walk any slower and you'll get lost in this forest," Lass commented when Ronan was near enough.

The bluenet looked at him with a whimper. "I hate this grouping, okay?" he told Lass.

"Whine all you want. Be thankful it's just one redhead, though."

Ronan gave an exasperated sigh and looked down again with his shoulders slumped forward.

"Geez, you act like you're so ashamed to be around him."

"You'd be too if you had dreams about him every night!" Ronan quipped at him.

"Whoa, dude, not so l-" Lass cut himself off, taking a moment to process what he just heard. "Are you serious?"

"The scenes aren't always the same, but it's always him and the same things happen. He does me, I try to say no, end up giving in, and wake up right after releasing," Ronan summarized as quickly as possible.

"Oh man, you got it worse than I thought." Lass couldn't help himself from laughing.

"I'm telling you, it's no joke!" Ronan bent his head down. "With every night that passes, he comes to be more aggressive on taking me."

Lass took a meaningful pause and continued, "So, it happens every night?"

Ronan nodded.

"Well, it's either you have an extreme infatuation about him, or…"

Ronan looked at him, waiting to hear his second hypothesis, until Ryan used his druid ability to roar to get their attention.

"C'mon guys. Pick up with our pace here. We need ta finish by today, remember?" Ryan reminded them. He had rested his axe on his shoulder and placed his other hand on his waist. He and Jin were practically about twenty meters from Lass and Ronan.

"Alright, don't get your shorts in a twist," Lass called to him.

He had started walking, but Ronan was still rooted to his spot with his head down, looking at the fallen leaves on the forest floor.

"Ronan," Jin called him.

Ronan looked up to find the redhead quite nearer than a moment ago. Jin was looking directly at Ronan with a very worried expression.

"If you don't hurry up you might get lost," the redhead told him.

"Uhm, right," Ronan managed to say. "Thanks, Jin."

Jin ruffled his hair, making the long blue locks fall down in front of him since he forgot to tie them up. The fighter turned towards the direction they were going, but looked back to check on Ronan.

"So, let's get going," Jin said to him.

Ronan was still in the rear, but the party had become less spread out now. He looked up, seeing the sky darken to a violet in the distance. It was still the morning they set out to start the investigation. It would take a really long time to remove taint from the land. And Kamiki's Castle was the best example.


	7. Chapter 6 - The Girl Party

**Chapter 6 – The Girl Party**

Elesis slashed down her blade on an orc that was rushing to her with its club raised high above its head. The orc received a deep cut to its belly and staggered back, looking angrily at her. Despite being a girl, Elesis didn't show emotion at all while looking at the black blood that was oozing from her enemies wound. With fluidity, she stabbed through the monster, pulled back her sword, and spun around to slash clean through its stomach. The orc fell down, its right hand cut cleanly off the wrist.

"Eek, so much blood!" Amy screamed right behind Elesis, seeing the mess the monster ended up in.

"How clean do you make your blows that you're still grossed out by blood?" Elesis asked her.

"All my weapons are blunt, even my chakrams."

Amy yelped after seeing the horde that had surrounded them while they were having that quick chat. She was gripping her cleo very tightly by its shaft with both hands and was hiding behind Elesis. The redhead grumbled, about to bring out her second sword with her free hand. They were surrounded by a dozen; she counted, realizing the difficulty of their position. Just then, Lire landed right in front of them and pointed a cerulean-tipped arrow to the sky.

"Stardust Rain!" she shouted, firing the arrow.

It went high up, piercing the sky with an even brighter blue light, before finally breaking into eight magic parts and falling down. Each part landed on an orc and exploded right at their faces. The four that remained stepped back. Lire nocked an arrow while holding another and targeted the head of an orc.

"Head shot."

The arrow flew straight in between the eyes of one orc, and it fell after a moment. Another fell in succession, an arrow hitting it in the same spot on its head. The other remaining two ran away from them. From the distance, an explosion came and two charred orcs fell down in front of the three girls.

"Aw man! That was a delicate set-up!" Arme whined. She was carrying her alchemy pot as she rushed over towards them.

"Heh, idiot misplaced her bombs," Elesis snickered.

"If you must know, that was for the Orc Warrior that was coming here."

Thundering footsteps could be heard. After a moment, a gigantic orc appeared. It gave a loud roar as it rushed to advance at them.

"Hey Amy, might need a pick-me-up right now," Arme stated.

"Sure thing. Dance Fever," Amy answered. She twirled to an energetic dance that magically raised the vigor of her teammates.

"Lire, a little cover please. Elesis," The violet mage looked at the redhead, "a little raiser, please?"

"Heh, thought you'd never ask," Elesis said, rushing towards the frenzied monster.

Lire took her stance and changed her bow for a much bigger one. She aimed at the orc and fired straight for its belly. The monster staggered, halting in its advance. Elesis had reached the orc and crouched below it.

"Air Spiral!"

She swung her sword upward with massive force, creating a giant wave that knocked the hideous creature off its feet and into the air. Arme dashed to reach where Elesis was.

"Thanks, Elesis. Big Bomb!"

She pointed her pot's mouth at the orc and fired a skull-emblazoned bomb at it, exploding the instant it hit the creature. The orc got pushed back and it groaned, falling out of the giant smoke cloud. When it reached the ground, a multitude of booby traps Arme placed a while ago detonated forming a massive eruption that engulfed the orc warrior. It gave a loud cry before the four girls found it burned to a crisp, flat on its back.

"Not bad, stuck-up mage," Elesis commented right after, resting her sword on her shoulder. "Oh, and thanks for the save, Lire. That was a really tough one to handle."

"Actually," Lire spoke, scratching her temple with her right pointer, "Arme told me to go there and help you."

"What?"

"She said 'the violent brute's idiocy got her in a pretty bad predicament. Please help her out. I'll just finish preparing this trap for the other one."

Elesis glared straight at Arme, but the mage simply stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Hmph, I don't owe you any thanks though," redhead said.

"Fine by me," the violet mage replied, giggling at the end.

"Uhm, I'd hate to ruin a victory break, but Mari hasn't come back for quite a while now," Amy told them with obvious worry on her face.

Everyone went silent for a while.

"Honestly, though. What's with the orc ambush in the middle of the Elven Forest. I thought we had got this place cleaned up last time," Arme cried out.

"I kind of find it disconcerting as well. This may not be the Eryuell Islands, but this is still a place we elves protect with all our might against evil," Lire spoke.

"Well, whatever's happening, I hope that she has answers," Elesis said, facing the sky. She was looking at a distant blue figure flying its way towards them.

Mari was propelling herself as fast as she could with her soul takers. Behind her were a pack of harpies chasing her with shrill cries. Her face was stoic, but sweat had formed on her brow. KORMET, the AI robot, appeared in front of her, boosting itself on the same speed as her. It pointed below her, at the clearing where the four girls were staring at her. She nodded and pushed her soul takers down to make a swift landing.

"Pack of fifty harpies, 250 meters." Mari quickly stated. She concentrated her soul takers on her right arm and formed her cannon.

Lire switched weapons for two mini-crossbows, locked and loaded. Elesis readied her spear to javelin it. Arme was casting Lightning Bolt with her staff. And Amy brought out a machine gun from her Pandora's Box.

After continuous barrages from arrow bolts, magic balls, gun bullets, a flaming spear, and a lightning bolt, the harpies had all fallen into an indiscrete part of the forest. Besides Mari, everyone sat down, panting.

"So, who else wants to know why there are so many monsters, raise your right hand," Elesis said, raising hers. Everyone else did, even Mari.

"Aw man, even Mari doesn't know," Arme grumbled.

"It is quite unfortunate, but my only lead is quite a massive influx of dark energy passing through here," Mari said, putting a hand to her chin.

"Eh, but how come Arme or Lire can't feel them?" Amy asked.

"Heh, the stuck-up mage can't feel energy anymore," Elesis snickered. Arme just pouted at her.

"Contrary to what Elesis thinks, the trail is not passing through where we are," Mari answered, "it mainly came from a path straight from the Ellia Continent, going towards the Violet Mage Guild Headquarters."

"I hope the guys are okay," Lire commented, hugging her knees close to her chest.

"Don't worry, Lire. I'm sure Ryan could handle them," Arme tried to comfort her.

"I-it's not just about Ryan." Lire was blushing a bit when she said that.

"Heh, okay. But, Mari, you said something about the Violet Mage Guild. Are they alright back there?"

Mari shook her head. "They're being swarmed. Everyone's trying to hold them off as best as they could. But their mana was already dwindling when I left."

After a moment, Arme looked at her, "Execute Test Operation Delta?"

Mari nodded. "We need to neutralize the threat there first though. It's very time-costly to set up."

"So, basically, we go there to kill the stupid things and give you enough time to build what you need to," Elesis summarized.

"The only problem is that they're Anmon."

Elesis and Arme groaned.

"Why does it always have to get harder the farther we go?" the violet mage whined.

"Oh, shut it," the redhead told her, "Lire could probably snipe a number of them before we assault."

"Oh, right! That's wonderful. I noticed Lire's arrows were practically picking off the orcs when she usually had to fire a volley just to beat one." Arme's eyes sparkled as she spoke.

Mari looked at the elven archer with a raised eyebrow, "A change in equipment that vastly increased your power?"

"Uhm, you could say that," Lire said sheepishly, "I also noticed it quite some time ago, when I started wearing this." She untangled the knot behind her neck and held out the necklace for everyone else to see.

It was unlike any of the necklaces that they could buy in the stores. Its beauty was also mediocre compared to them. It was circular, with an elevated circle inside, and a smaller shiny sphere in its center. The outside design showed four dots in each of the four primary directions, the top being yellow-green and clockwise: red, brown, blue. The inner circle had its own design, a form of wave pattern that ran along it. Now and then, the sphere seemed to be sparkling and shining bright.

"Ooh, that's so pretty," Amy commented. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift from a kid back in Kanavan," Lire answered. "He was very happy when he gave me this, saying 'This will give you great power.' He looked strange, though. But I was glad he gave me this. Whenever I use it, it feels like Ryan, like he's helping me nock my arrows."

"Aww, that's so wonderful. I want to get one, too."

Arme looked at Elesis, noticing something familiar with the accessory. "Don't you have one like that as well?"

The redhead raised her eyebrows at what Arme said. But then, something clicked, and she hung her head. "Y-yeah. I also got it from a strange kid, possibly the same one. But, when I use it, I feel sad. I keep remembering that day. That day I… I…" It was very rare for the sword-girl to show something like tears. Her hands were limp on her sides, and she didn't want to face anyone.

Arme went towards her. She held the redhead's hands and tried to ask her, as comfortingly as she could, "You remember him when you use it, don't you?"

Elesis shut her eyes. "I hate it when you conclude things right all the time." Her hands were still with Arme's.

The violet mage wrapped her arms around Elesis. The sword-girl was surprised, but she didn't push her away. "It's alright. I'm sure he still cares deeply about you."

"Yep, I'm certain he still thinks about you, too," Lire told her.

"He still loves you, you know. I can tell," Amy said.

"I agree as well. I've noticed how close you were before. It's not too late to be that way again," Mari added.

Elesis could only nod at them. She smiled. Maybe, there was still hope for her to love Ronan.

"Thank you, girls. And," she hugged Arme, "Thanks a lot, stuck-up mage."

"Hehe, it's nothing. But, you're the one who should start it. You were the one who broke up with him, after all. Your intention was to keep him from getting shredded by Sieghart, but he may have misunderstood you," Arme told her.

"Yeah, I guess I am at fault for this one. But," She pushed the magician aside, "our priority right now is to save some other stuck-up mages in a pickle." Everyone nodded, and stood up, having regained their energy. "So, let's get going."

"Wait," Amy pleaded, "I want to see Elesis' necklace first."

"Eh? Alright, but it's basically the same as Lire's so I don't get why you have to see it."

Elesis brought it out from her pocket and held it out for everyone to see. Like she said, it had the same design as Lire's. With some slight modification.

"Huh? That's weird," Amy said.

"What?" Arme asked.

"The top bead. A while ago it was blue, but the colors shifted and now it's red."

Elesis looked at it. "Now that you mention it, I do remember always seeing the blue one on top, not red."

"Whether it means something or not, we have to postpone figuring that out. The Violet Mage Guild will be in deeper trouble if we delay," Mari said.

Everyone nodded, and they soon started to walk in the direction Mari led them to.

Arme thanked that they didn't encounter any monsters during their little break. She sighed in relief, taking the rear of their group formation. But, her reason for going there was to ponder upon things, so as not to bother her friends.

"Two reds, for only one blue…"


	8. Chapter 7 - Weakened

**Chapter 7 - Weakened **

Lass watched the Anmon Scout that was in front of him, as it coiled back its right arm. It shot the pointed appendage straight at him with breakneck speed. It was already nearing him. Only ten feet separated him from the Anmon, and the arm would reach him the next second. Lass flashed his nodachi to parry. The pointed arm changed its angle, narrowly missing the assassin's cheek.

The Anmon scout brought back its arm, finding it missed its target. But, as it pulled back, its elbow hit something. It looked around to find Lass already behind it, smirking. With one quick hilt-blow to its head, the Anmon fell down unconscious.

"Lass, stop playing with them and help me out here," Ronan called from his left. The magic knight was pinned to a corner by a group of five Anmon. One of them was a Guard, lugging a maul hammer with ease. Ronan hit his back on the wall of one of the dark spires that were everywhere in Kamiki's Castle. He grunted as he stabbed Tyrfing to the ground. A large rune lit up the ground, centered beneath him.

"Kanavan Strike!"

Countless magic blades flew upward, hitting from below the Anmon that were nearing him. They were mercilessly juggled in the air several times before falling hard on the ground, unable to get up. Ronan was panting as cold sweat traced the side of his face. He barely managed to hold himself up, using Tyrfing for support. He figured that all the Anmon were dragged in that area attack, until a shadow darkened his view. He looked and saw the Anmon Guard already raising its hammer high above its head. He groaned, not knowing if he'd survive after being hit by it.

"Rage Cutter!"

The Anmon Guard froze with its maul hammer behind it. Ronan watched as the blunt weapon dropped, followed by its holder. Behind it, Lass was simply sheathing his nodachi back in its scabbard.

"What happened to you? How come you're so drained all of a sudden?" Lass asked the blue-haired boy.

"Kanavan Strike wasn't a skill I normally use with Tyrfing. It's quite difficult to reproduce in a different weapon," Ronan explained, stopping in between to breathe.

Lass turned around and scanned the current area, trying to focus his attention to their scattered teammates. "Is it just me, or everyone is having a harder time trying to fight these ants besides me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just look at Ryan. He already had to go use his werewolf form just to beat a couple of them."

Ronan looked at the direction Lass was facing. Sure enough, the nature-loving druid had already turned himself into an orange-furred beast with claws and fangs. Two of four Anmon scouts around him had dropped with their front facing the ground. The other two were still in fighting stance and looking intently at their target.

"Your right. He only transforms when it's already too hard. Also," Ronan pressed one hand to the ground, "this land feels darker than usual."

"What?" Lass asked.

"Dark energy is coursing through this place yet again. And it seems to be more ominous and powerful, probably the reason why the Anmon are getting stronger."

"Tsk, I don't think it's just the Anmon," Lass griped. Heavy footsteps could be felt from the ground. From their right, there was a Dark Mongban that was lumbering its way towards them. It let out a low growl as it spotted them. Ronan was still recovering, so Lass took a defensive stance in front of him, his hand hovering over the hilt of his nodachi.

"Sorry, just a little more, and I'll be able to get up," Ronan told him.

"Feh, s'alright. After all, it's only a normal fight for me," Lass remarked.

"I wonder why though..."

"Fight now, talk later."

Lass dashed towards the Dark Mongban and pushed out his nodachi a bit. A faint sparkle came from the exposed sliver of the blade. The Dark Mongban growled, trying to hit Lass with the gigantic clubs it held. Lass made an agile sidestep, easily dodging them. While the monster was open to attack, he took the chance to get up close.

"Phantom Blade!"

Lass continuously slashed the Dark Mongban faster than the eye can follow. After a couple of seconds and the click of a replaced scabbard, the giant monster fell down with a resounding thud.

"Well, that was easy," Lass commented. "Wait, how come the ground's still shaking." He looked at Ryan, but the druid had already turned back to human and the other two Anmon had been defeated. He looked at Ronan, and saw what caused the quaking. "Ronan, behind you!"

Ronan turned around to find another Dark Mongban had snuck up while he was distracted. He struggled to get up, but unable to lift Tyrfing after. "Tsk, so much for 'just a little more'," he said. The monster swung one of its maces to Ronan's left side. Unable to avoid, the magic knight tried to parry of the block. But, the force of the Mongban's strength pushed him, making him hit the spire. He grimaced, cursing the fact that he can't fight off this one.

"Scorpion Sting!"

Ronan saw the Dark Mongban get nearer towards him, guessing it was going to lunge. But, it turned around, having been pushed from behind. Jin was holding his chammagon behind his back, his muscles becoming tense. The Dark Mongban moved its arm to smash him with its right mace. Jin whacked the underside of the Mongban's arm, making it lose its balance. Jin threw the wooden pole towards the monster, stunning it for a bit longer. He dashed near it, making a hemisphere shape with his hands. A large mass of Jin's energy burst forth from his hands. He held back his right hand, fisting it.

"Fist of Ten Thousand Hells!"

He punched the mass of energy, making it explode in a giant burst. The Dark Mongban was caught in the explosion, and fell unconscious right after it subsided.

"Well, that takes care of that. You okay, Ronan?" Jin asked.

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't take it on myself," Ronan apologized.

"No need for that. At least there was no major damage."

"Right, and the coast seems to be clear for now already. Let's gather up and rest a bit."

Jin nodded. Lass and Ryan both went towards them, finding some cover in the spire. The druid groaned, sitting down with a big clang from his axe.

"Ryan, tone the noise down a bit. It might be best we don't alert any enemies," Lass told him.

"'Ight, forgot about that. Sorry," Ryan replied, scratching the back of his head.

"You okay, Ronan? How come you got so weak?" Jin asked.

"Bit better. It's just that channeling magic through Tyrfing is different from my original magic sword. It's easier for me to produce larger area magic with my former one, while this is more focused on rapid-hit magic," Ronan tried to explain.

"So, basically, you had to use more energy to produce the same field effect?" Lass asked.

Ronan nodded. "About twice the energy I usually use to make it. If I used the same amount, the magic radius won't even be able to hit the four Anmon scouts cornering me."

"Tough luck for ya," Ryan said.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll just remember to use my summons instead next time. Unlike my sword magic, they're not weapon-specific."

"Hehe, you better do. It's not easy to defend you, princess," Lass chided.

"Princess? Can't I have a single day where you don't tease me, Lass?"

"Can't help it. Your girliness just makes me feel naughty, you know?"

"Okay, that came out wrong in my head..." And everyone else started to laugh.

"Geez, Ronan, lighten up for once."

"But, it's not just Ronan having a hard time fighting them. It seems the monsters here have gotten stronger as well," Jin said.

"Ronan could feel dark energy returning here, in greater strength than before," Lass added, a little more serious now.

"I could feel that, too. It's like someone was concentratin' the dark energy here, then spreadin' it out to specific places. I coulda felt some going towards Bermesiah. Can't tell where they're goin' exactly, though," Ryan explained

"Wherever it's going, it's obviously bad news since monsters would get highly dangerous by that time," Jin said.

"I just hope the girls aren't having trouble back there," Ryan muttered.

"Tsk, so much for the not-get-distracted hypothesis," Lass commented.

There was a moment of silence for a while. The only sound to be heard was the wind making eerie noises, passing through the holes in the spires.

"Hey, Lass, I forgot for a while there. How come you were able to fight those things like they were practice dummies?" Ronan asked.

"Quite an exaggeration there. But, I basically got something that gave me a great boost in my strength, in some way," Lass replied, "Let me show you."

The white-haired boy took out the necklace around his neck and showed it to them.

"Huh, I don't think I've seen anything like it before," Ryan said.

"Same here," Ronan added.

"Wait, I think I have one of those as well," Jin replied.

"Let me guess, strange kid?" Lass asked.

The fighter nodded, bringing out his own for them to see.

"Wow, they really are the same, apart from the order of the beads," Ronan observed.

"Yer right about that. The brown bead on top, for Jin, and the blue bead, for Lass, must mean somethin'. Don't understand it yet, 'nfortunately."

"Hold on. If you're still having trouble with the monsters, that means you're not using it. Aren't you, Jin?" Lass asked.

Jin replaced the accessory back in his pants pocket. "It gives a strange feeling whenever I try to put it on. I don't like it."

"Well, mine feels like Arme is imbuing my attacks with her magic, making them stronger. What does yours do?"

"It makes me want to think about Amy a lot. But, it's not helpful and gets me very distracted from fighting."

"Hmm, that certainly is troublesome." Ronan said.

"You ready to get up?" Jin asked him.

Ronan shook his head. "Sorry. It seems my recovery is being slower than usual."

"Here, use this," Lass told him, shoving a corked round flask to his face. It contained an algae green liquid.

"This is one of Arme's experiments, isn't it."

"Yep, but don't worry, it really works."

Ronan was still very doubtful of the substance in the flask. But, he really wanted to be able to help the group in fighting. Decisively, he uncorked the flask, and drank all of the questionable potion in one downing. He could feel his eyes getting heavier and his movements becoming sluggish.

"You would feel very drowsy for a few hours though," Lass added, smirking.

"Damn you, weird albino." Ronan grumbled, before falling sideways on Jin's lap.

"Surprising predicament. What was in that flask anyway?" Jin asked.

"It was a sleeping potion. He needs some rest, that's all. And don't move, I think he's already comfortable like that."

Jin sighed. "All right, but we can't stay for long in here."

"Don't worry, I'll keep watch for upcoming enemies. Just take care of Ronan."

Lass stood up and walked off by himself away from them.

"You're not joining him, Ryan?" Jin asked after a while.

"Nah, he ain't gonna be far off. And he's the only one who can take them on right now," the druid answered. "Besides, I figured you'd need the company."

"Thanks, because I'm having a lot of things in my mind right now. You won't mind me telling them to you, won't you?"

"Nope, fire away."


	9. Chapter 8 - A Clear Premonition

**Chapter 8 – A Clear Premonition**

"Mari, how many more panel shield generators do you need to install?" Elesis asked the Ether Tech she was covering. She had just created her Genocide tornado, sending any nearing enemies into the spiral. It was a delaying tactic to buy some time.

Mari wasn't giving an overstatement when she said that the Violet Mage Guild was being swarmed by monsters. The number of enemies was roughly twice the number of mages there, and that was after Lire's Arch Ranger Big Shot. Having spent their energy on stronger spells a while ago, the Violet Mages could only perform small bolt spells and buffs to help out the girls fighting for them.

"Just one more, but the area has a massive aggregate of monsters. It needs to be cleared first," Mari answered already moving in a 2 o'clock direction from her last device. Seven of the eight required set-ups were placed in an octagonal formation surrounding the headquarters. "Lire, status report," applying pressure to a device on her ear. A portable communicator she had given each of them a while ago.

"Not good," Lire replied from the gadget, "there are monsters going towards the South-West and East-South shields. That's the fourth and the sixth. I'll take out the fourth, but someone has to handle the sixth. The mob might come any moment."

Elesis was about to rush over when Amy came whizzing past. "Allow me," she called.

The dancer held her cleo upright as she ran towards the sixth-placed generator. Sure enough, there was a group of Anmon dashing as well towards it from the opposite direction. At their current speed, Amy would reach it a moment before they did. Upon getting there, she positioned her cleo in front of her, pointing in the direction of the ant-looking monsters.

"Scream!"

Amy released a high-pitched sound, which got amplified and concentrated as it passed through her cleo. The Anmon were pushed back by the sound waves that also hurt their hearing senses. One by one, they fell down unconscious, unable to take the frequency.

"And that's how you beat bad guys without blood," Amy said, turning around to Elesis.

"Ow," Elesis said, "So that's why my ears hurt when I was talking to Mari. That skill has some serious reverberations."

"Girls, first and fifth, repeat first and fifth," Lire interrupted from their ear devices, "I'm still busy with the fourth here."

The two girls nodded. "Roger."

Lire was atop the building, sniping at the enemies nearing the fourth generator. She was using a mixture of explosive arrows and accurate shooting in her aim stance. Beside her, Arme was standing in the middle of a magic circle to channel mana.

"Lire, don't you think we're spread quite thin? Is it really alright I stay here and just concentrate?" Arme asked, worried about her friends below.

"Don't worry, they can handle it down there," Lire assured her, "Everything would depend upon your success on this spell."

Arme nodded, resuming her mana channeling with her battle staff held horizontally in front of her.

"The final shield is already in place. Your signal is after Elesis and Amy clear the first and fifth ones," Mari said from the intercom.

"Bravery!"

Elesis swiftly cut through the Anmon that were going towards the first shield. Her sword slashes blazed, hitting enemies she wouldn't normally hit with her blade. A final downward slash sent a shockwave that sent all of her foes flying. "The first is clear," Elesis said.

"Pink Death Parade!"

Amy took out a hologram projector and a pink dinosaur outfit from her Pandora's Box. In five seconds, the suit and machine were on, and a 50-foot hologram of a pink reptile loomed over the Anmon there. They were unfazed, thinking it was just an image, after seeing what Amy did. The Sistina released a small giggle, before readying her right foot high in the air. She stomped, the ground shook, and the Anmon were lifted twenty feet off the ground. She stomped her other foot just when they were about to land, making them airborne longer. The dinosaur opened its mouth and spewed a flame laser at the monsters, which exploded on impact with the ground. "Fifth is clear!" Amy announced.

"Initiating Code Delta Activation Sequence," Mari said.

"Understood. Arme, now," Lire called.

"Got it. The End."

The sky turned red. Countless massive meteors could be seen falling towards the Violet Mage Guild Headquarters. Just as one was about to hit the building, a blue force field flickered and blocked the meteor. The attack continued, wiping out all the monsters that were trying to make their way towards the Headquarters.

After a while, everything was clear and the violet mages, one by one, sat down to rest. And so did Elesis and the others with them, in their own circle.

"It's a prototype model for a Mana Drive Shield Panel Generator I have created," Mari explained, finding the inquisitive stares of the mages at the blue light flickering now and then surrounding their building.

"I would like to thank you personally for helping us, Grand Chase," a woman with long lavender hair said to them.

"High Mage Clara," Arme recognized, bowing sheepishly before her.

"Hello, Arme. I see you're doing well."

"Yes, Ma'am. We came here finding out that this place is connected to the disappearance of Master Aerknard Sieghart, the mana trail of the one who held our evidence passing by."

"Evidence?"

"Yes. Here," Mari said to her. She showed her a cloth wrapping that contained the note and the necklace in it.

"My, this is very bad. That shade of purple does mean that it came from someone that is connected to the Violet Mage Guild. And the damage to this necklace, it's very disturbing that it can be recreated."

"Does that mean it's not Elena who broke that necklace?" Arme asked.

"I'm afraid not. The magical damage to the necklace is of the same magnitude, rendering it useless. But, Elena has the ability to make the physical damage of the necklaces more subtle, faking that it was an accident."

"Oh."

"And, as for the mana trail that led you here. I think I have something that can help."

"Really?" Elesis suddenly asked. Her energy went up a bit, feeling tense with what Clara was about to say.

"It was a night four days ago. On one of my nightly rounds, I noticed a young man a distance from the Guild. I couldn't make out his face, but he had white hair. A moment after, he walked off. I didn't see him since. But, that was the last night I had in peace, before the Anmon came and attacked us for three straight days. Most of the mages have already drained all of their magic and have collapsed in the infirmary."

"The white-haired guy... Was it Lass?" Lire asked.

"NO! Lass and I had a quiet walk that night! Don't make him the bad guy!" Arme interjected.

Everyone just snickered, and Arme realized she just divulged a secret of hers.

"Don't worry, Arme," Clara said, "I assure you it wasn't Lass. This man was much too tall and much too loud to be him. It seemed he was in an angered state, stomping off. I could hear his footsteps clearly that night. We are in peace with the Silver Cross Thieves. Their leader has no need to personally go to us and cause conflict."

Arme thankfully sighed.

"Would you happen to have any leads as to where this man went?" Mari asked.

"Sadly, he left nothing for me to be able to trace him. I'm sorry."

Mari nodded.

Clara looked at Elesis, and abruptly gasped.

"High Mage Clara, is something wrong?" Arme asked.

_"Two hearts that affect one_

_Causing sadness and confusion_

_A scarlet dream_

_An emberred flame_

_An earthed desire_

_An emotional quagmire_

_There is always one who'll be in pain_

_And one will end up not fully sane"_

Everyone was silent after that.

"A reading of three..." Arme murmured. She was shaking when she realized what she had just heard.

"I'm very sorry, Arme," Clara told her, "A reading of three is not the best of prophecies, and I didn't want to tell it either. But, she's part of it, and it's important she hears."

"I understand, High Mage Clara."

Clara nodded, and walked back towards the resting mages.

"Arme, what was that about?" Lire asked. The redhead was also looking at her with a worried expression.

Arme put her head down, saying, "She had a prophecy concerning Elesis. But, I can't tell what it means. It's one of those things that she has to learn by herself." Arme looked at Elesis, her eyes starting to become wet. "I'm sorry."


	10. Chapter 9 - Dream of Desire

A/N: This chapter is yaoi. If you don't like it, please don't hurt yourselves or me over it. Ronan wakes up and they notice something in the distance. Uhm, yeah, that's about it. ^^;;;

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Dream of Desire**

_Since that first day, you have come to realize that your dreams have some lucidity in them. It is possible for you to think and act as you feel in these situations. But, you also find the end result to always be the same..._

Your eyes are shut tight, and you're afraid of what you'll be seeing when you open them. But, you can already feel his grasp on your wrists, pinning them above you. Your back is against the wall. And, you can feel his breath on the left side of your neck.

Too sudden, you thought.

He starts to nip on your collarbone, and you try to gulp back a whimper. You start to pant, and find your body getting warmer from just that one action. He calls your name, before he bites down on the base of your neck, with enough force to make you gasp out loud. He softly licks the mark he made on you, and you start to lose your strength, your fists loosening. You could barely struggle to keep yourself standing.

"Jin, you're going too fast," you mutter.

"Ronan, I can't hold it back," he tells you. "I need you right now."

Slowly, you open your eyes. There is a dim light from your bedside table, but it's blocked by his face looking straight at you. It made him look like he was glowing, becoming your light. He is only wearing his black flame pants. You look at what your wearing: a plain white shirt and blue shorts.

His eyes pierce you, and you lose yourself. He takes you forcefully, crushing his lips on yours. A small sound escapes from your mouth. He begs for you to let him in. And you open your mouth. Your head hits the wall hard. 'Why am I so weak?', you asked in your head. 'Why can't I resist you?'

He lets go of your left hand, and you feel his right snaking its way under your shirt. Your left weakly grips the hair behind his head, his force on your mouth is unrelenting. By now, you're starting to lose your breath, and you instinctively suck in, pulling him closer. A muffled moan comes out when you feel his hand playing with your nipple, pinching it. After a moment, he breaks away, both of you breathing heavily. Your eyes don't break contact, giving silent messages. All thoughts of doubt leave your head.

"Jin," you try to start.

"Yes?"

Your voice quivers. "I want to do it."

In that instant, he reclaims his concern for you, hesitating.

"Please, Jin."

When he doesn't reply, you get to your knees without another word. Your hands are anchored to the ground. With firm resolve, you start to suck on the fabric in between his legs. His surprise makes him balance himself against the wall, pushing it towards you. Your tongue licks it, inciting a reaction in him.

"Guh, Ronan," Jin groans, feeling the sensations intensely.

The fabric rises, pushing at you. You open your mouth wider in return and push back. You move your hands to a distance slightly higher than your forehead, and begin to unbutton his pants. Jin bites his lip and grasps the hair on the top of your head, supposedly trying to pull you back.

"Ronan, wait," Jin tries to say.

You cease sucking his pants and look up at him. His body is beaded with sweat as he looks down on you, panting heavily. You straighten your knees to be in level with his abdomen, and start to lick the salty sweat trailing from it. As you lick your way down, so does his pants go. He grunts as you pull it down to his knees, revealing his hardened member.

You gulp back your saliva and open your mouth once more. Jin moans soundly as he feels it slowly encase his erection. You start to move your head back and forth, trying to go a little deeper with each cycle. But, by the time you reach two-thirds, your gag reflex kicks in, and you pull out, coughing.

"Don't force it," he worriedly tells you.

You simply look at him and shake your head.

You inhale deeply and take it in once again. Jin gasps as you go farther and have the whole thing down to the base in your mouth. Your tongue rubs under it, and you stay that way for a second before you pull out again, gasping for breath. An incomprehensible taste is left with you.

"Jin, please," you try to say, your mouth wide open for him.

He understands what you meant, biting his lip as he takes his member and puts it in your mouth. He thrusts it hard, while his hand grasps your head to keep you steady. You hold back each time you start to gag, as he pushes the whole thing in your mouth. You can hear him gasping with each push he makes. You can feel his member beginning to throb.

"Wait, not yet," he says, pulling it out and stumbling on the floor in front of your bed on his bottom. He pinches the neck to stop himself. He doesn't want to yet. "Ronan."

"Jin," you reply. You go forward and promptly put yourself over him. His hand abruptly pulls you in again into a deep kiss. Your tongues swirl with each other, exchanging your saliva. Your clothes are quickly removed and Jin takes his turn to entice you, while you are left to hold on to the edge of the bed you wouldn't use.

He places two fingers in your mouth as he licks one of your erect nipples, then biting it. your gasp is muffled by the digits in your mouth being coated by saliva. His other hand plays with your member, stroking it. He removes his fingers and places them both in your behind. The sudden sensation surprises you, feeling him scissor them to get you wider.

You shake your head. "Enough of that," you tell him breathily. You go near his ear and whisper, "I'm ready."

With one last thrust from his fingers, he takes them out and holds on to your waist. Slowly, you go down and take his member with your hole. It stretches you painfully, making you stifle a yelp. Jin winces, also finding it very tight. But, you also liked it this way. You begin to move up and down in front of him, and soon enough he finds the rhythm and thrusts you in time. Slowly, your hands migrate to his back, and he pushes you down on the floor. He soon starts to become more intense, and it makes you moan out loud. Your fingers dig down on his back as he goes ever faster inside you. He strokes your member with one hand, and you feel your body convulsing with his ministrations.

"Jin, I-I'm gonna" you try to tell him.

"Ahh, Ronan!" he calls your name. You both release. You feel him emptying his seed inside you, as yours splatters in between your bodies.

"Jin, I love you."

_He says something in return, but you can't hear them properly. You feel yourself passing out._

Ronan slowly opened his eyes and sat up straight to stretch. He was mentally fatigued by that last dream, wanting no more than to go lie down again. Until he realized what his pillow was. He looked to his right and found the fighter meditating. Then, he found him resting his head on the spire behind them and figured he was actually sleeping.

The bluenet could feel heat rushing to his face. Good thing Ryan and Lass had gone out to probably scout around. He also really wanted to stab that albino with magic blades after giving him a sleeping potion. Though, it did admittedly help him recover his strength. But, now he was alone with the guy that was always in them for the past week. The whole thing replayed in his head in fast forward, and he cried out in agony.

"Ah! Why did it ever come to this?" Ronan asked himself, holding his head with both hands.

"Oh, good. You're awake," Jin told him.

Ronan looked at him, the only things that changed was where the fighter looked and his eyes being open.

"Oh, yeah. Hehe," Ronan tried to converse. He figured this definitely wasn't anything he himself did normally.

"So, you alright now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That thing really did let me have some rest. Thanks."

"No need to thank me. Lass was the one who gave you the flask right?"

"No, it's not that." Ronan shook his head. "I want to thanks you for letting me sleep on your lap."

"Oh, uh, your welcome."

There was a moment of silence between them. The wind could be clearly heard blowing past.

"Uhm, Jin, can I ask you about something?" Ronan started.

"Oh, funny. I was also having the same thought," Jin said.

"You have something to say to me, too?"

"Yeah, but mine can wait. You go first."

"A-alright. That is... These past few days have been really rough for me. I mean, you know about it already right?"

"I guess. Amy told me about the whole thing. Didn't really think that her grandfather would actually be the cause of you two breaking up, though."

'Yeah... It's just kind of making me distraught."

"Don't worry, I'm sure there is a way for you to settle things with her."

"I see. Thank you, Jin. That made me feel better."

"It's alright. Anything for you, Ronan."

"I see Sleeping Beauty is up and about," someone said right behind Ronan, smirking right after. The bluenet stumbled away from Lass with a sharp shout.

Quickly, Ronan regains his rage at the assassin. "Damn it, Lass. Of all things, a sleeping potion was what you had in mind?"

"That was the most potent potion I had, you know."

"That was practically an item for attack."

"Hey, it's not like you're going solo, aren't you?"

"Still, it's risky as a recovery item!"

"Heh, so it did help you."

Ronan lost his anger after that statement. "Well, yeah. I guess, I have to thank you for that."

"Heh, you're welcome." Lass looked around. "Say, wasn't Ryan with you a while ago, Jin?"

"Yeah, but he went away after a while, saying he's going to look around," Jin replied.

A shining pillar of light suddenly burst forth from somewhere deep in the middle of the dark, desolate land.

"I get the feeling he's in that direction," Ronan stated.

"Well, let's get going. You two stay together. I'm faster so I'll check if he's in danger." Lass said, sprinting before them.

Jin was also about to run, when Ronan suddenly remembered something. "Jin, weren't you supposed to tell me something?"

The fighter looked back at him. He smiled. "I don't think now is the time for that. Ryan's safety is of foremost importance," he answered.

"Oh, alright."

Ronan put that thought at the back of his head as they ran towards the shining pillar fading in the distance.


	11. Chapter 10 - Trying to Understand

**Chapter 10 - Trying to Understand**

"Took you guys long enough," Lass remarked when Ronan and Jin were already within earshot. "You didn't have a little sideline, no?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ronan asked.

"Nope, our path was clean of any monsters, surprisingly," Jin replied. He smirked at the assassin, knowing what he did.

Lass chuckled a bit. It wasn't his expected answer, but it was a correct one. If only Ronan would think differently, he wouldn't be so flustered. The white-haired assassin turned around and walked off towards a nearby spire. Jin and Ronan soon followed.

"Hey, Lass, where exactly are we going?" Ronan asked.

"Hm? I'm taking you to the source of the light a while ago," Lass replied, walking around the spire.

"Eh? And that would be-"

"Hey girls, Jin and Ronan are here!"

When the three finished rounding the spire, the girls, save for Mari, were already making their way towards them.

"Whoa, how'd you get here so fast?" Ronan asked.

"It's quite interesting actually," Arme started, "I found this tome in the library of the Violet Mage Guild that-"

"She actually learned how to teleport properly," Elesis interrupted. The mage could only pout at her.

Jin looked behind them and saw that Ryan was lying on the floor unconscious, tended to by Mari's medic probes. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"Er, yeah about that," the mage muttered. "Apparently, it wasn't a simple teleportation spell. It was an area swapping spell. If we hadn't seen his warpike boomerang back at us when we came here, I wouldn't have known it was so."

"We had a rough time when we came here," Amy whined. Then, she shook her head, "But, it was nothing compared to what Ryan faced."

"Arme and I went back to the Violet Mage Guild Headquarters, and we saw him single-handedly fighting Antoinette while already poisoned by it. He had to transform to a werewolf, then to Nephilim just to beat it. The High Mage explained that had he not, the shield Mari made would have fallen before the mages could recover their strength," Lire explained. "It sure took a toll on him. Arme made him sleep to hasten his recovery."

"So, in a way, it was both a good and bad thing," Lass summed up. Lire and Arme lowered their heads.

"Well, at least all of you are safe," Ronan said.

"Oh right. Jin, now that you're here, Mari and I can finally finish analysis," Arme suddenly chirped.

"Huh?" the fighter asked, raising an eyebrow. "Analysis of what?"

"Your necklaces," Mari answered, walking towards them. "Ryan is alright now. He only needs proper rest and he'll be good to go."

Lire soundly sighed in relief, and she smiled afterwards. Jin brought out his necklace, and so did the other three who received them. Arme and Mari examined all of them, looking at them in every possible perspective. Afterwards, Arme pointed her staff at Elesis' necklace and directed a beam towards it. When the beam faded, she did the same to the other three. After the fourth beam had faded, Arme nodded to Mari.

"The four outer beads correspond to the four elementary elements. Fire for increased offensive power, wind for increased overall speed and precision, water for continual and fluid attack, and earth for defensive strength and counter-action," Arme started to explain.

"So, depending on the bead color on top, we get a specific substantial buff?" Lire asked.

"Yes. And the beads seem to take a specific order. Clockwise, they always follow the pattern of the four seasons. Earth, then fire, air, and lastly water," Mari added.

"What about the white bead in the center?" Elesis asked. "I just noticed they also had differences on the four of us."

Lire and Lass had a bright light shining from the center of theirs. Elesis had a dim glow on hers. And, Jin's wasn't giving off light at all.

"It signifies the active use of the necklace by its' owner," Arme said.

"Well, that's true, I haven't worn this in a while," Jin commented.

Lass looked at Arme's direction and saw her eyes were too placid, the way it is when she hides things. Her hands were also limply holding her staff. But, her fingers were jittery and impatient, squeezing the shaft once in a while.

"Anyways, since we're all here safe and sound, why don't we all take some rest before continuing on. If I heard correctly from Lass, Ronan already had a hard time a while ago. It won't do if we have helpless companion out there," Amy suggested. To that, Ronan sheepishly put a hand behind his head.

Elesis grabbed Ronan's other hand. The bluenet got startled by what she did. "Uhm, Ronan, if it's alright with you, I need to tell you something," she said, hiding her face.

"Oh, uh, sure," he replied, "Let's go over there." He pointed at an empty spot where they could talk in private.

Soon enough, everyone else started to migrate back to the circle they formed earlier around Ryan. Everyone except for Lass and Arme. The mage quickly ran to him and buried her face on his chest.

"You knew I was lying, didn't you?" she asked.

He hugged her. "It's alright. If you needed to hide it, I understand. But, are you hiding it from me?"

She shook her head. "I was hiding it from Elesis. I don't want her to find out too soon and start a rift in our group."

"Pfft. She couldn't."

"You know she likes Ronan a lot, and... that prophecy. A reading of three always has an ominous meaning."

He looked at her. "I take that the necklaces are much more intertwined with it?" He knew at least that it concerned Ronan and Elesis.

She motioned for them to sit down. She hugged her knees to her chest and took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's not just an indication of the buffs given by the necklace. Each bead represents the kind of emotion that you are attuned with," she explained. "That necklace is not a normal accessory."

"Yeah, based on us who have been given one by some strange kid that appeared in Kanavan, it seems to be able to have a connection with the wearer's special someone."

She leaned on him. "Yours is water. Calm, placid, Also soothing. I like it when I feel that from you."

"You give me too much credit," he scoffed.

Arme looked at Lire on her knees beside Ryan, watching over him. "Lire's is wind. Gentle and encouraging." She turned to Elesis, the sword-girl's hands were clasped together behind her back, unable to face the mage knight in front of him. "Elesis is fire. Passionate and determined. But, I don't understand Jin's necklace."

"Why not? It's just earth right?"

"Yes, it's supposedly about perseverance and resilience. But, I can't make a connection to it with him."

"Maybe Amy's just turning him down too many times."

They both looked at Jin having a conversation with Amy and Mari, but mostly with the former. Jin's infatuation with the dancer was evident to the whole Chase. But, the reading of three was bothering Arme to no end. The prophecy mentioned specifically the two elements Elesis and Jin had. If it was what she thinks it is, it would be very difficult to fix if something goes wrong. She sighed. "I suppose your right."

"What about the center bead, then?" Lass asked.

The violet mage fell quiet for a moment. "It's concerned with how the wearer deals with his feelings. You and Lire both have shining beads in the center because your emotions are in the light. You are able to and are fully honest with what you feel. Elesis flickers because she believes she only has a small hope."

"Small hope for what?"

"She wants to get back together with Ronan."

"Oh," Lass muttered. "But, the second time around is never as good as the first. More so when the one who wanted to break up is the one who's trying to make up."

"I know. But, she told us she still has feelings for Ronan... She may be a pain to me, but she's also a dear friend of mine. I don't want her to get hurt, Lass." Arme was starting to tear up.

The white-haired boy hugged the mage. "It's okay. I know how that feels. But, shield her too much and she'll never grow."

Arme wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeves and smiled at the assassin. "Thanks, Lass. I kind of understand what you said there."

"Heh, no problem. Guess I am really water."

Arme giggled at what he said, and that made Lass smile.

"But, that kinda makes Jin even more uncertain," Lass said.

Arme nodded. "Yes. His center bead doesn't glow at all. I can think of two reasons for that. The first is that it's hard for him to show what he feels for Amy."

"And the second?"

"He has dark emotions for someone."

"Huh, interesting." Lass said, staring into the purple sky above them. "Arme, how did you know that those were the meanings of the necklaces, though?"

"Because, when I tapped into each of the necklaces with my mana, I could feel those emotions well up." She shook her head and looked at Lass. "Also," She hugged him. "This warm feeling only comes from you."

Lass hugged her back. "You're really cute, you know that?"


	12. Chapter 11 - Only the Earth Knows

**Chapter 11 - Only The Earth Knows**

Lire could feel a wave of relief pass through her when she saw Ryan's eyes quiver. The druid slowly tried to open his eyes and found her smiling above him.

"I'm so glad you're finally awake," she said.

"Yeah. Sorry for worryin' ya like that," he replied. "You're not hurt, are ya?"

She shook her head. "I'm alright. But," she took his right hand on both of his, "Are you?"

He tried to sit up, but he winced, feeling pain from his left side. "Guess that vine whip was more powerful than it looked." He grimaced as he made his body upright.

Lire wanted to tell her that he should lie down a little longer. But, he was already cross-legged. She looked down. "I'm sorry. You got hurt trying to protect me. If I didn't put myself in trouble like that, then maybe you wouldn't..."

"Aw, come on. Don't beat yourself over it. I know ya just wanted to help, right?" Ryan gave her a bright smile to cheer her up, even though she wasn't looking.

Lire suddenly hugged him tight. "Just don't do anything that reckless ever again, okay?"

Ryan laughed, enclosing her with his own arms. "I'll avoid it if I can."

Lire sighed, but at least she knew he was fine. Just for now, she thought, while it's still calm, let me stay in your arms like this.

After a while, they broke off, and Ryan asked, "So, anythin' happened while I was unconscious?"

"Well, we got reunited with Ronan and Jin. Other than that, not worth mentioning," Lire mused.

The druid looked towards the two sword-users having a private chat some distance from their camp. "I suppose they're talkin' 'bout their relationship, huh?"

"I guess..." Lire was rubbing her right forearm with her left hand. "Uhm, Ryan, that is, um..."

"What is it?" the druid asked her, looking at her.

"I...I..." Lire tried to say. She shook her head, unable to say what she wanted to.

Ryan held her by her shoulders. "Hey, is there somethin' wrong?" He was obviously worried about her.

She inhaled deep and exclaimed, "ILIKEYOU!"

He blinked. "Uhm, what?"

Her cheeks were getting redder by the second. But, she knew if she didn't say it properly, he won't hear it. "I...like you... I really like you."

"Oh, uh..." His hands suddenly left her shoulders. His right came up to scratch behind his head. "Does that mean you didn't know?"

"Wh-what?" Didn't know about what? He had a secret? He has a girlfriend already? HE'S GAY?!

"I thought you were just being nice to me."

"I-I don't understand. What's this about?" Lire wasn't expecting to hear this after her confession. Her vision was starting to get blurry.

It caught Ryan's attention. "No, it's nothing like that." He brought one hand to the archer's face to brush her tears.

She held his hand, keeping it to her cheek. She couldn't look at him properly. "Please, just tell me. I don't understand anything about this."

Ryan pulled her towards him and embraced him once more. "I also like you, Lire. Ever since, I've really liked you." The blonde elf was so surprised she couldn't speak. He felt something warm and wet fall down on his shoulder.

"You're an idiot," she whimpered, "Why didn't you say it before?"

He made her face him. "Like I said, I thought you knew already. It's like an open secret that I like you."

"Well, I didn't know. No one told me, and I had to keep mine a secret because of it."

He wiped the streak of tears on her right cheek, and gently placed his lips on her forehead. After that, he looked at her and said, "Then, I won't hide anything from you, okay?"

Lire dried her tears, and after that she smiled, "Okay, I'll put my trust in you."

Ryan looked up in the sky, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it getting a darker shade of purple than a while ago?"

"Yes, I figure it's getting late. We should soon prepare the tents and resume investigation for tomorrow."

Ryan nodded, and Lire walked off to tell Mari, who was configuring KORMET by herself. The druid stood up as well, wincing a bit, but steadily enough to walk towards where Jin was, having ended talking with Amy a while ago.

"So, what did the pink princess talk to you about?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing much. Just clothes, then the songs she was composing. They sound pretty good," he replied.

After that, it got serious. "I'm the only one who knows about it, then?"

"Pretty much. You won't tell anyone, right?"

The druid had to pause for a bit. "As long as Lire doesn't ask me anything about it."

"That's good enough for me."

They both looked at Ronan and Elesis. It looked like they had ended their conversation well, seeing that they were holding hands again.

"You'll lose yer chance if you wait any longer," Ryan resumed.

"That's what I plan on doing."

"What?! Are ya trying to be a martyr?"

The fighter looked at him with soulless eyes. "I'm not going to force myself on someone who likes someone else." He turned around. "One broken heart is significantly less than two." And he went away without another word.


	13. Chapter 12 - Camping for the NIght

**Chapter 12 - Camping for the Night**

"Arme, would you be so kind as to take out our supplies?" Mari asked the mage.

"Sure thing," she answered.

Arme placed her pot in front of her and delved her hand in. Her whole arm disappeared inside it. Her face scrunched up, then lit up. She heaved out a rolled-up tent. Afterwards, she put her hand back in to get some more stuff. She finished after taking out one more tents, a pile of firewood taken out piece by piece, cooking ingredients and utensils, and four cubes that had crisscrossing blue lines that faintly glowed.

"Okay, that's everything," the violet mage announced.

"What're the shiny boxes for?" Ryan asked.

"Shield generators," Mari stated. "You won't need to take turns with keeping watch. If the shield or any of the devices get broken, a code I installed in KORMET should give you ample time to prepare yourselves for battle."

Amy glanced at the empty wasteland that had turned a little more blue than violet. "Is it just me, or does it seem to be awfully quiet despite all this dark energy?" she asked.

"It's also unnerving for me, Pink," Lass said to her, "But we better take advantage of it and just rest for now. Don't think too much about it."

"Oh, okay."

Lass' eyebrow went up. Amy always got angry at her when he called her Pink.

"While I prepare the generation field, please start setting up our camp as well," Mari said. "Lire, Ryan, you will be in charge of dinner."

Both of them nodded, already taking the supplies and talking about what to cook.

"Ronan, please start the fire."

"Okay," he walked towards the pile of firewood.

"Jin, Elesis, Amy, you'll be setting up the tents. Arme, we'll be discussing some things."

The first three headed for the tents Arme brought out and were deciding on good spots to place them. Mari held two shield generators stacked on her hands and walked to the eastmost part of the camp. Arme followed with the two other cubes, leaving her pot so that the two elves could use it later for cooking. After a while, Mari stopped and surveyed the area to make sure it was suitable for device placement.

"While we are placing these, let us confer about the information we have collected this day," Mari said with her back to Arme. The violet mage acknowledged it, and the bluenette continued, "So, about our suspect. He was found at the Violet Mage Guild and had unknown intentions."

"And by High Mage Clara's description, he had white hair, a tall frame, and a displeasure with the Guild."

Mari tapped the top of the box and it revealed an antenna with disks that glowed blue as well. "Okay, this one's done. Let's head for the next one." They moved in a clockwise direction and stopped right in front of the spire they had landmarked for camp. "Now, about those necklaces."

"Uhm, right," Arme fidgeted a bit with the two cubes she held. "I think there's more to them than just strengthening the wearer."

"Please explain."

Arme was becoming quite unsettled with this conversation. "It seems to be connected to one's heart and emotions. Those beads... It's probably just me, but they might have a deeper meaning to them."

"It's not just you," Mari told her. She had stood up after placing the generator. "I do think they mean something more, as well. But, everything would probably be clearer in due time."

They headed off for the next station, facing west.

"Arme," Mari started, "how much have you discerned of the prophecy?"

"Uhm, what?" Arme asked, feeling flustered.

"The reading of three, if I recall correctly, was what you called it."

"Oh." The violet mage was not too keen on that subject. "So far, what I now is that the necklaces are a part of it."

"And they play a major role in understanding it?"

"Yes, I think..."

"You're not sure?" Mari asked.

Arme fell silent. She knew fully what that kind of prophecy was. It would always concern three people, and would usually cause trouble in three parts. The first is a warning. Should the events of the first half happen, the second half would come true. When the first part bears fruit, only then will the second part be told. And it had a worse meaning than the former one.

"Arme," the bluenette called to her.

The violet mage snapped back to consciousness and found the third generator already running. By now, energy was converging at the tip of the antenna. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Mari. I can't be of much help on that topic. My only hunches are that it involves Jin and Elesis. And, because of one part in the first half, the third person is most probably..."

"Ronan," Mari finished. She had started to walk again, towards the north of camp to place the final generator. Arme gave her the last cube and she bent down to make the final configuration. "I don't suppose it's a love triangle we're going to deal with, no?" she asked.

The mage could feel a shiver run down her spine. Her mind had come across that conclusion already, considering what she knew about Ronan having dreams about Jin. "W-what made you get that conclusion?" Arme questioned her back.

"You might want to look at the ones preparing the tents right about now."

Arme turned around and spotted the place where the tents are, a little to the northeast from where Ronan was making the center bonfire. It was all normal. The first tent had been finished and was being examined by Amy. The other one had its poles erect already, the ties being worked on by Elesis and Jin.

"I... don't see anything tha-"

"Do you notice how close Jin is being to Elesis?" Mari cut.

Arme looked once again and found the fighter towering behind her friend. Even a mere child could conclude something with what she was seeing.

"But, but I thought..."

"You thought what?" Mari asked her. A glowing line traced itself from the four antennae of the shield generators. From there, transparent hexagon panels flashed with a cerulean light that formed a dome around their whole camp. The flash faded and the panels vanished, but that didn't mean the shield broke already.

It didn't make sense at all to Arme. She thought it would be a unidirectional love triangle; where one who loved someone loved another. She wasn't expecting that it would be Elesis who would be the center of attention of two guys.

"Are there any hypotheses that have been reevaluated, Arme?"

The mage turned around to finally face the La Geas. She could only nod, unable to speak properly after realizing her mistake in judgement. But, it still bothered her that Ronan had dreams of Jin. Would it be possible that this is also a wrong conclusion? Arme held her head, feeling a slight headache after realizing how complicated her thoughts were.

Mari noticed and walked towards hew, placing a hand on the mage's shoulder. "It's very confusing, isn't it?"

Arme nodded again with a weak sound.

"Love is a very confusing thing and is very hard to understand, if you put it in an intellectual standpoint. But, in the end, the only thing that would govern it is what is felt with emotion. Did you understand?"

Arme shook her head. She always found Mari to be speaking jargon she couldn't understand. But other times, her words just have a way of being verbose.

"What I mean to say is," Mari explained, "Love uses the heart, not the mind. Rationality is undeterminable when someone is in love."

"Oh," Arme sounded.

"Arme, I find you to be very bright and very sensitive. So, you'll be able to understand things in a better way than most people."

"Thanks, Mari." She paused for a bit, before asking, "Will you be telling anyone about what we discussed right now?"

The La Geas stood up once again and made a physical examination of the shield she created. "Provided that it is extremely necessary, I will tell any information needed by our group."

"So, that means..."

"In the meantime, no. I only will if there's an urgent case-in-point."

"Oh. Is that your main reason for asking these things?"

"Primarily. But, I also want to understand better what is going on in this party."

Mari summoned KORMET, who was on standby near the tents, and gave some instructions to it. "Pi ... ... ... delta ... ... ... epsilon gamma five ... ..."

Arme could swear that she had never heard any jargon like that from any tome she had ever read. "Uhm, Mari?"

The La Geas ended her one-sided conversation with KORMET and looked at Arme. "Sorry about that. I had just encoded the information into KORMET. If I ever forget about any of the details, KORMET would be able to give me the discernible code to access it."

Arme had only understood half of what she said. Summarized, it meant she had KORMET as a recording device of some sort.

"Okay then," Arme replied.

Mari examined the camp. "Tents are done, campfire started, and everyone is already gathered there. I think it's already time for supper, since the smell of the stew is very good."

"Alright," Arme agreed.

And they both walked their way towards the rest of the group.


	14. Chapter 13 - Nocturne

A/N: This is a yaoi chapter. In here, Jin is the victim instead of Ronan and the Chase actually get attacked when they wake up.

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Nocturne**

Ronan shook his head, trying to remove the sleep from his eyes. It was long past dinnertime and the boy's tent was already quiet. Well, save for Ryan muttering in elventongue. Their mats were lined up in a row, and Lass, Ryan, and Jin were already sleeping on them, from left to right. The bluenet had abandoned his rightmost spot and sat at the corner for obvious reasons.

"No, I can't sleep," he said to himself, "I have to keep myself from dirtying my thoughts with those dreams."

He hugged his knees closer to his chest, digging his nails on his skin. He knew what would happen if he took even the slightest nap. But, the druid's murmurs were starting sound like a droning sleep chant. The bluenet's eyelids were getting heavier with each passing moment. His grip on his legs was also starting to ease up. He didn't want to sleep yet, but he couldn't stop it anymore.

Ronan found himself standing in an empty white room. He turned around, seeing a single wooden chair to be the only piece of furniture. Save for that, it was completely devoid of anything. No doors, no windows.

_"Sorry, but you won't be dreaming for tonight."_

Ronan turned around once more, hearing the voice from behind him. But, he didn't find anyone else in the room. "Who are you? Show yourself," he yelled to the emptiness in front of him.

_"Heh, I don't think it's time yet for you to know who I am."_

The bluenet grunted. His tight fists were shaking.

_"Now, now. No need to get irritated. Why, if you look at the window there might be something of interest to you."_

Just then, something suddenly materialized on the right corner of his eye. He faced it and saw it was a dirty glass pane. His eyebrows scrunched up. With one last glare on the empty area, he walked to the window. When he touched it, he found it to be very warm, and covered in dirt. He wiped a small portion on the bottom right corner, and saw a bit of light flickering on the other side. From the color, he figured it was from a candle's flame.

_"Hesitant, are we?"_

Ronan turned once again to his left, but he ended up glaring at a far wall. He moved his hand in swipes to remove more of the soil from the glass. He turned to find the corner showing the legs of a side table and the fringe of white sheets on a bed. But, upon his closer inspection, Ronan tensed to find it like his room.

_"Are you curious?"_

Ronan gulped hard. He looked at his right hand, trembling and covered in dirt. With his left hand, he continued removing dirt from the bottom of the glass. the floor and the edge of the bed could now be seen. He didn't find anyone's legs dangling from the edge of the bed, but there were some black, translucent, shiny ropes that came from the bottom of the bed. Now and then, the ropes would show movement, and the bluenet was apprehensive of finding out what they were holding.

_"Here's a hint for you. Close your eyes."_

"And what good would that make?" Ronan asked angrily.

_"If you still want to see what's on the other side of the glass, close your eyes."_

Ronan was already scared of what was on the other side. He was scared to find out what the ropes are holding. He knew for a fact that all his dreams from the past week was on his room. But, he still closed his eyes, not knowing what else to do.

When he opened them, the dirt had all been cleared. And, his whole body completely shuddered at what he saw.

_"Like what you see?"_

Ronan heard it whispered to his ear. There was even a breath that came with it. He shut his eyes, not wanting to look anymore at what was before him. "What do you want?!"

_"Nothing much at the moment. Just finding a bit of amusement."_

The magic knight felt his ear being licked. Somehow, he couldn't react. "What are you doing?"

_"He's looking at you right now."_

Ronan opened his eyes to see a naked Jin staring back at him with glassy eyes. The black ropes weren't really ropes, but tentacles that wrapped around and surrounded the redhead. They had coiled around his legs and arms tightly, restricting any movement from the fighter. A thick one had coiled itself around his torso, spiraling up his abdomen and entering his mouth in the end. Two thin ones crept on his erect nipples, while another had a tight grasp on his hardened member. Another thick one was sliding in and out him, very fast and very painfully. Jin was already breathing heavily from all the stimulation, his voice muffled as he moaned and gasped.

A sudden cold hugged the bluenet, giving him goose bumps. "S-stop it, already," he begged.

_"But, I'm not in control here."_

"I thought you said I wasn't dreaming."

_"Put frankly, it's not your dream. But, it's still in your mind."_

Ronan couldn't understand just what that meant. He soon started to feel his own dick getting harder, being caressed along the shaft. He looked down to find himself masturbating quite vigorously. Once again, he felt a lick on his ear. He had started to make a weak sound of his own.

_"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"_

Ronan's cheeks were flushed. "N-no. I can't. Not Jin." As much as he tried to look away, the sight of Jin being tentacle-raped was already embedded on his mind. He couldn't stop moving his hand.

_"You're near."_

"I... must... not..."

_"He's also reaching his limit."_

Indecisively, Ronan had looked once more at Jin. The tentacles seemed to be much more erratic and gripped tighter on the redhead. The ones that had entered him and was on his throbbing member were both moving in a continually increasing speed. His eyes had snapped shut and his struggling had turned into restrained flailing.

"No... no. I can't... stop anymore," Ronan groaned.

_"Oh, and just so you know, he was waiting."_

Just as he had heard that, Ronan came out, staring at Jin being splattered all over by his own semen. The fighter was left limp as the tentacles soon receded to the bottom of the bed. The bluenet looked down once more, at his hand, his member, and his own cum splattered on the wall beneath the huge window. His body felt limp, and he slumped down. He felt the soft feel of a mattress beneath him, and someone's hand holding his.

"Ronan! Wake up!" Ryan violently shook the bluenet that had curled on the corner of the tent.

"H-huh?" Ronan blinked a bit to find the druid with his axe lying down on the floor.

"Finally, yer awake! Get'p and grab your sword, now!"

"Why?" Ronan asked while sitting up.

"Can'cha hear? We're havin' a monster crisis outside."

Ronan listened a bit and heard the sound of fireballs bursting and battle shouts. His body suddenly moved quicker. "The shield got broken?"

"'Fraid so. Hurry, we're kinda outnumbered again."

The druid rushed out without another word, axe in hand. Ronan grabbed Tyrfing, lying down on the wall opposite the tent flap. When he turned around, he found Jin to still be lying down on his mat. He briefly pondered why Ryan didn't wake him, before kneeling before the sleeping redhead.

"Jin, wake up," he called. "We have a fight right now."

Finding no reaction, the bluenet tried to shake him. But, as soon as his hand touched the redhead's shoulder, he suddenly whimpered and moaned, curling his body to a ball.

After that, Ronan didn't make another attempt to wake him up, finding his reaction of weakness quite disturbing.


	15. Chapter 14 - An Ominous Encounter

**Chapter 14 - An Ominous Encounter**

When Ryan said that the camp was being attacked, Ronan didn't think the monsters would be full of mongban accompanied by dark mages. Lass was already busy hacking down the nearest monsters to the camp, while Arme deflected lightning from the dark mages that Lire was sniping. Ryan and Elesis had also charged forward. Mari was building automated defences with KORMET, while Amy was dancing around. It may not look like much, but Amy's dances were very helpful to the party.

"Ronan!" Arme called when she saw something moving at the corner of her eye. "This is bad. Amy's hunch was right."

Ronan formed a wind dome around Arme and Lire, successfully deflecting the lightning before it reached them. "How many are there?" he asked.

"I can't say for sure. It's a very big mob." The violet mage brought out her battle staff from her pot beside her and fired ice balls to freeze anything moving towards them. "I'll need time to cast Deep Impact. Think you can cover?"

Ronan spotted some cannonballs fly over their heads and explode upon hitting the mongban in front of them. But, he had lost sight of Ryan and Lass in the crowd. And it doesn't seem to be stopping either. He saw a lightning spark at the back of the mob, most likely a mongban that went electric.

"I'll take care of here," Amy went up to them, bringing out a photon sword and a machine gun from her purse. "But that mob needs to decrease."

"Right. Lire, cover me," the bluenet said. The blonde elf nodded. They both dashed towards the mass of giant monsters, effectively getting their attention as well. Some of the dark mages' lightning bolts were soon directed at them, but were deflected by Ronan's magic shield.

"Come forth, Valkyrie, Guardian of Heaven!"

The magic knight summoned a divine archer draped in white linen and shining armor. Her bow was already loaded with an arrow of lavender energy. She fired, and her shot exploded upon impact. Four mongban and a dark mage fell in front of them. But it barely made any damage to their enemies' numbers.

Ronan nodded to Lire. The elf understood and jumped to Valkyrie's shoulder. From there, she could aim at things a lot better. She nocked an arrow and tried to find Lass, Ryan and Elesis in the sea of dark monsters.

"Ronan," she nervously yelled, "Dark Gorgon is there."

The bluenet tensed. "Are the three of them fighting it?"

"Not yet, but I think he's the one leading these monsters."

HIs teeth clenched. "Lire, take down as many of them as you can with Valkyrie. I'm going after those three."

"Be careful," Lire yelled to him, before taking an aim stance and firing headshots.

Ronan nodded and ran. "Tempest Blade!"

Swords materialized around him, spinning in a spherical area around him. As he entered the mob, it effectively stopped any attacks the mongban had directed at him. Their wide bodies gave him narrow space to move in, but the blades surrounding him pushed them back so he could pass through. In the distance, he spotted Lass' white hair for a moment before it disappeared beneath the height of a mongban leader.

"Abyssal Storm!"

Ronan forced a large tornado in front of him that pushed half a dozen mongban off their feet and out of his path. The assassin spotted him getting nearer, but was still caught up on his own fight with the mongban leader. He disappeared from view, and visible slashes quickly came out of the mongban's skin. Lass materialized just as his enemy was falling down, his posture relaxed and his claws resting on his sides.

The white-haired assassin looked at him with a smirk. "You're one hundred years late, captain. We're halfway through already," he said when Ronan reached him.

Ryan was some distance behind Lass, backing away from an aggressive mongban. "Actual'y, he just predicted that this'd all be over in'n hour, and I had woken you up about thirty minutes since we got notice that the shield got wrecked," he explained. He smashed the ground with his axe, making the earth before him jut out to hit his enemy. The mongban fell down on its back. "But, we still need the help though. I don't think we even took out a third of them yet."

"Did you try to wake up Jin?" Ronan asked.

"Well, yeah, but I couldn't stir him. It's like he's having a nightmare he can't wake from."

"Oh."

"It's like there's no end to them," Elesis said from his right. She was wielding a giant two-handed sword in hefty swings, knocking down mongban left and right. "All the dark mages are targeting those in the camp, but we can't seem to find any in our current position."

"Lire can take care of the dark mages. She's on a higher altitude with Valkyrie at the moment. We have a bigger problem though. She spotted Dark Gorgon."

"Then, that must be their leader. We need to take 'em out," Ryan replied.

"I don't think that's possible with our current situation. We have to defeat these guys first. Tempest Slayer!"

Ronan summoned the sentient armor that glowed with a blue light from inside. It rushed to stab the nearest enemy with its lance. Its only derivative was to defeat everything it considered hostile.

"You had just summoned twice. Aren't you the least bit drained by that?" Lass asked.

"Not as much as using Kanavan Strike on a sword unfamiliar to it," the bluenet replied.

"Well, you're not the only one who's going to use skills here. Spatial Divide!"

In the blink of an eye, Lass disappeared again, and a massively wide area had the shadow images of giant slash marks from his claws. Countless mongban fell around them, and dark mages that were in the area as well.

"So, did we pass half already?" the assassin asked.

"Hey, don't count me out here," Elesis called. She put her giant sword on her back and drew out her dual swords from their waist scabbards. "Genocide!"

With rapid swinging, Elesis formed a tornado that rounded up any monsters it found and pulled them in. They were juggled inside the violent vortex with no means of escape.

"Alright," -She switched back to her giant sword- "Dragon Dive!"

She swung high above the eye of her tornado and drove her sword down the mass of monsters. She was standing on a heap of mongban right after.

"My turn," Ryan called. "Nature, give me strength. Lend me the power of Magnus Dan."

Light engulfed the druid, and he transformed to the legendary warrior, clad in white armor lined with streaks of orange. His longsword rested on his right hand in a relaxed grip.

"Lord of Valhalla!"

He summoned a large red terrestrial dragon that pounded in front of him. It let out a mighty roar before lunging at a group of mongban and blasting fire in their faces. Ryan himself targeted other monsters and took them down with a single hit.

Just then, they found Mari to be flying above them and quickly rush down to where a lot of mongban were.

"Core Break."

A blue beacon surrounded by frozen monsters was in front of them. After a while, snow started to fall due to the drop in environmental temperature of the area the La Geas was in. She then rushed to join the four of them.

"The camp defenses have been finished. Arme, Lire, and Amy are about to join now," she said.

"Heh, I think they just did," Lass replied, looking at the sky.

Everyone else looked up to find massive fireballs falling from the sky and hitting many monsters all at once.

Elesis cursed as she side-stepped to avoid being hit by one. She yelled to the incoming Valkyrie with three girls, "Arme, I know you did that on purpose!"

The violet mage just stuck out her tongue playfully, as she flew beside the angel.

Amy waved to them atop Valkyrie's left shoulder, while Lire smiled from the right.

"Wait, something's off..." Lass muttered.

Ronan noticed as well and scanned the area. He saw the area around them get darker. But, when he looked up, he saw two purple eyes glaring at them.

"Everyone, look out," he yelled.

Dark Gorgon roared, getting everyone's attention, before diving in a speed fast enough to hit them before they could react. Lass was primed to strike it, but it was already about to hit them the next moment.

"Total Smash!"

An explosion of chi later, Dark Gorgon was pushed back to a safe distance. And Jin had suddenly appeared in front of them. "I'm not too late to fight, am I?"

"Yer awake now?" Ryan asked.

"Yup, I woke him up." Amy answered.

"How?"

"I just shook him."

The oranget blinked. "Then, how'd you get here so fast?"

"I didn't," Jin said. "I was already going to this area when you were defeating the whole mob."

"KEKEKE! HAVING FUN WITH YOUR LITTLE CHAT?" the evil dragon said.

Everyone tensed up to fight it. They had seen how it moved. It won't be easy to beat it.

"I WAS ORDERED TO BRING YOU ALL A MESSAGE."

"Then what was the Mongban Armada for?" Lass asked it.

"I DOUBT I'D BE SAFE TO TALK TO YOU. AND IT WAS MORE NOT SO WHEN I BROKE THROUGH THAT BLUE AURA YOU CALLED A SHIELD."

"Then why did you attack us just now?" Elesis retorted.

"KEKEKE. WOULDN'T HURT TO TRY NOW. AFTER ALL, THIS IS ALL FOR REVENGE."

"What are you going on about?" the assassin asked him once more, his eyebrows narrowing.

The Dark Gorgon singled him out. "WATER CAN BE CLEANSING. BUT THERE ARE THINGS DEEP BENEATH THE SURFACE."

"What? Water- Are you talking about the necklaces?!" Arme questioned it.

But it ignored her and turned to Elesis. "FIRE GIVES LIGHT. BUT GET TOO CLOSE, AND YOU'LL BURN."

"S-shut up, you lizard," she shouted.

Next was Lire. "THE WIND MAY BE GENTLE. BUT, IT CAN ALSO BE FIERCE AND BECOME A DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO."

The elven archer shuddered.

"AND LASTLY EARTH," he called to Jin. "FOREVER REQUIRED TO REMAIN STABLE. OR EVERYTHING ELSE WILL CRUMBLE BECAUSE OF YOU."

A 'tsk' sound came out of Jin, his fists tightening.

"I AM NOT ALLOWED TO HURT YOU, NOT YET AT LEAST. MY NEW MASTER WOULD WANT YOU TO SUFFER IN PAIN VERY MUCH. KEKEKE."

And with that, it flew off.

"C-could someone tell me what that was all about?" Amy nervously asked the group.

No one could answer her at the moment.

Just then, KORMET flew towards Mari, beeping quite furiously.

"Everyone," the bluenette called. "I have just received an emergency status report from Kanavan."


	16. Chapter 15 - Battle Aftermath

**Chapter 15 - Battle Aftermath**

_Monsters in Bermesiah have been rampaging since yesterday. Serdin and Kanavan are all right due to their guarding forces. The elves of Eryuell are also able to fend for themselves. The Violet Mages are safe thanks to the shield you gave them, which they now maintain with their mana. All that's left is to help the town of Silver Cross. Paraminimy have been sighted going to them. With the whole town open to attack, the Thieves will have a hard time if any other monsters arrive. I have sent Lime and Asin to help, though the latter was most reluctant. Imminent evacuation to Kanavan will be done if needed. Please hurry with the investigation._

_-Knight Master_

Mari translated KORMET's beeping and told the message to the rest of the group. She only had to say it once.

"I have to go back," Lass said. He moved to turn around back to the direction of the camp.

"I know full well you're reason," Mari replied, "but your mission is here."

He grunted. "I'm their leader. They need my guidance."

"But, we also need your help here."

He swiftly turned around to face the bluenette. "I can't just leave them helpless there!" the assassin shouted.

"L-Lass..." Arme muttered.

His claws clanged on the ground as he fell down on all fours. The whole group was in silence.

"They're helpless without me," Lass shakily murmured.

The violet mage wanted to comfort him in any way. But, when she was already a foot away from him, she couldn't think of anything she could do. She could only hold her forearm with one hand.

The La Geas sighed. "I've analyzed the problem and come to a conclusion." She looked at everyone's expectant faces. "I'll go and defend them until I've set-up a proper barrier same to the one in the Violet Mage Guild."

"W-what?" Lass asked.

"The reason why I don't want you leaving is because you bear one of the necklaces, Lass. It would do well for Arme to learn some more about them while the investigation is ongoing. They are probably connected to the case in some way and would give us a hint to where we should be headed. I believe it would be enough compensation for me to help them in your stead. But it is imperative you stay here."

The assassin took a moment to reply. "Do you promise to protect every one of them?"

The bluenette nodded. "Arme, please send me to Bermesiah. I will have to assemble additional shield generators to make a barrier around Silver Cross."

"Y-yes, right away," the violet mage replied. She ran towards her and pointed her staff on the ground to summon a rune under Mari.

"How long will it take you?" the white-haired boy asked.

"Approximately two hours to complete the devices, including modifications. And another hour for me to reach Silver Cross. Asin and Lime would definitely keep them safe for the time being. But, with the town the only place vulnerable to attack, I infer they won't be able to hold out continuous advances."

"Then, please hurry." Lass straightened up to sit on his knees, and bowed low with his hands on his lap. "I leave their safety to you."

"But, Mari," Amy interrupted, "Without you, we'd have a hard time fighting very massive mobs. We'd lose valuable crowd control."

The rune had fully formed beneath Mari and had gained a dim glow. She pondered upon the dancer's question. She took out a gold disc from her pocket. "Clockwork."

The gold disc immediately stood upright and extended its body outward. Two small yellow eyes flashed open, signaling boot-up completion. It looked at Mari, who was giving it a command. It nodded its head and levitated its way towards Amy.

"I've given Clockwork Knight the derivative to help you in a dire situation," the bluenette told her. "Just... don't throw him like you do with your pets."

"H-hey! Those are joint attacks with Pip and Ninko. I'm not mistreating them!" she tried to defend.

The rest of the group could simply laugh at them; the atmosphere had gotten lighter. The rune beneath Mari had shone more intense now. She used the last remaining moment to talk to the violet mage. "Arme, please take into account everything you discover and try to figure out what those necklaces really do."

Arme was still concentrating on completing the rune, but she had heard what the bluenette said. She nodded a bit. The last magic words were said, and the rune turned to a pillar of light. When it had faded, Mari had disappeared.

Ryan yelled before slumping down on his bottom, his axe making a giant clang as it dropped beside him. "This is not the best way to start a mornin'. I thought that good dream meant somethin' like today won't be so bad." He huffed. "Guess I expected too much..."

"We can't do anything about it though," Elesis muttered. "It already happened, so we just have to continue and do the best we can."

"Pfft, since when have you been so mature?" Arme asked her devilishly.

"Wha- You implying something, Meteor Head?"

"Heh, nice try. But I must say, your retorts are a bit childish."

"Uhm, girls," Lire tried to intervene, "I don't think now is the right time for you to-"

"Don't act so high and mighty about me! You're not so mature yourself, you know..." Elesis smirked a bit.

"Now why would you say that?" Arme challenged her.

"Your imagination is very active, isn't it? Especially abou-"

"WAAAHH! That has definitely no bearing in maturity, whatsoever!" Arme's face reddened as she chased Elesis, as if physical restraint would stop the redhead from talking.

"Sure it does, pipsqueak. And you know why? Hehe."

"Nyaa! Now you're just being whimsically immature!"

"Your fault for pushing me."

"It's your fault for scaring me."

Lire could simply sigh as she fell on her knees beside Ryan and rested her head on his shoulder. The druid was slightly surprised, but was happy to oblige.

Ronan watched as his girlfriend continued the banter. He didn't bother stopping them, since he knew they were enjoying their argument. He walked up to Lass, who had changed to a carefree sitting position, his right hand perched on an upright knee. He placed one hand on the assassin's shoulder, making the white-haired boy look up.

"Feeling better?" Ronan asked.

Lass took the bluenet's hand and placed it on his cheek. "A hug and a kiss would help me right now."

Ronan jerked his hand back, and fired a Ragna bolt to his face, which narrowly missed by a few centimeters. He sighed. "I had wanted to comfort you, but I guess you won't need any of that."

Just as he turned to leave, Lass suddenly grabbed his hand. "Actually, I really need someone to talk to right now."

Ronan saw a bit of helplessness from his eyes. He went back and sat down cross-legged in front of Lass. "Fine, but you better be serious about this."

"Ah, geez. What did you think I mean when I said I want to talk?"

"I don't know... Maybe something I won't like..."

"Heh, you never like anything I do to you."

"Isn't that obvious? It's always either harassment or a trap."

"Okay, I get the point. Will you hear me out now?"

Ronan huffed once, before crossing his hands over his chest, waiting for Lass to start.

The assassin repositioned himself to prop his other hand on his other knee. His mouth had become a thin slit that slightly pointed down. "Ronan, do you understand anything at all about this?"

"What, the investigation?" Ronan wondered.

"No, just the necklaces in particular. I find them... specifically ominous."

"You can't ask me about those, though. I don't have one."

"Guess you're right about that. Well, next question then. How's your relationship with Elesis?"

"W-what?" Ronan almost fell down on his back, as he was taken aback. "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, I don't know... You broke up... A week after, you're back together again. It's quite a volatile relationship, don't you think?" Lass didn't seem to be joking about his statement.

"I think I understand what you meant there..."

"So, you think it'll last?"

"I don't really know. I mean, I still have feelings for her. But, the moment we find Master Sieghart, I'm afraid..."

"Figured as much. You sure you're not having any conflicts?"

"Huh?"

"I'll rephrase my question then." Lass shifted to cross his legs and leaned towards Ronan. "What about Jin?"

"Uhm..." Ronan gripped the hem of his pant leg tight. "I... had a dream again last night. But, it was different than the ones before."

"Eh?"

The magic knight sighed deeply. "Last night, it was another unpleasant dream. I was in a completely empty white room, save for a really large window on one side. On the other side of the window was my room, where I..." He had to blink and breathe before blurting it out, "saw him getting raped by a writhing black mass of tentacles."

"So, he was the one in pain instead of you, this time?"

Ronan nodded. "But, how come all of your questions were directed at me?" His face suddenly shone indignance.

"I just needed to understand some things a bit better. A white room, huh?" They were there in silence for a while, just looking at the sky above them, which was tinted purple, but of a lighter shade since a couple of hours ago. "It's already near midday. We should get a move on."

"You're probably right about that. We should reach the heart of Kamiki's Castle by today. Hopefully, we'll find something useful over there. I should go and tell the others."

Ronan began to stand up, when he suddenly fell on one knee.

"How many times did you summon again?" Lass lightly asked him, before standing up and offering his hand to Ronan.

The bluenet took it without further hesitation. "I didn't feel this weak before I sat down to talk."

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

Ronan shook his head. "It just felt like my strength left me as I stood up."

An invisible wave hit Ronan again, and this time, he fainted forward.


	17. Chapter 16 - A Scarlet Sunset

**Chapter 16 - A Scarlet Sunset**

_Someone who was and is deeply cared for, you are..._

Hearing that voice again, Ronan knew that he was unconscious. He didn't want to open his eyes. Cold passed through his back, expecting already. But, he felt nothing. Wondering what is there, he braved to open his eyes. It was still his room, but it was an orange-tinted day instead of the lamp-lit nights he was used to. Some birds chirped on the other side of a closed window having frosted glass to the right. He was wearing his house clothes, a plain white shirt over baggy aquamarine shorts.

At first, he was relieved to find it wasn't like his previous dreams. But, it nagged on him why he was here on the first place.

_You forgot, didn't you?_

"What?" Ronan waited for the voice to answer him, though vainly. But, it did.

_Fufufu, such inconsideration of the feelings of others, and from a knight at that._

"What are you talking about?!" He angrily shouted in the silence that seemed to envelope him.

_If you really wish to know, you just have to look outside..._

The birds squawked from outside his window. There was a change in sound. Ronan quickly ran to the side of his room with the window on it. Sure enough, the sounds he heard weren't from pigeons that usually perched on the window sill. They were pelicans. But, his room in Kanavan Castle only viewed the castle garden. It didn't face the...

"The port..." Ronan muttered.

He quickly reached his hand for the handle, but instantly jerked it back in reflex as well. The metal handle that locked the window had a molten redness to it, though still retaining its shape. He grimaced, massaging his burned palm. But, he needed to know what was behind the glass. With firm resolve, he tried to twist the handle again, in vain. It didn't take five seconds before the searing pain made him cry out loud and push his hands back, making him land on his bottom.

_I see you forgot my instruction as well._

"Do you mean-"

_Why, yes, of course. That's the only way you can pass through._

"Pass through... What do you mean by that?!"

No one answered.

Ronan groaned, still feeling the burns on his hands. But, if he wanted to know what was out the window, he'd have to act. He stood up with his knuckles, and walked over to the window sill again. He looked at the molten handle, and closed his eyes. A deep breathe, and his hands felt cool, the pained swelling gone. His right hand groped for the handle, which he found to be of normal temperature now. It clicked, but when he pushed, there was no window.

He opened his eyes to find that it really showed the port. But, his view was the side, near the wooden platform. Sure enough, when he looked at the end of the platform, a certain redhead was sitting there with a bluenet by her side. Ronan's eyes widened.

Elesis was wearing a pink blouse, a red skirt, a scarlet jacket, and a turquoise satchel along with a yellow hairband. Beside her, was a long-haired boy wearing a cobalt vest and dark denim pants. They were both staring at the sea, the sun about to set with an orange glow.

"This is exactly like that day," Ronan muttered.

The girl seemed to be excited about something and wanted to talk about it with the boy beside him. But, his lack of expression dampened her mood. His eyes never once left the sea. And hers kept glancing at him.

"Why am I not talking to her?" Ronan asked himself.

_A little fact, she had also been waiting._

The sea breeze came, making their hair sway. She wanted to hold his hand, a little comfort from the cold. But, at the last moment, she thought against it and cupped her hands on her mouth to warm them instead.

"Why am I not doing anything?"

_This is rather boring._

"What?" Ronan took notice of the disembodied voice. What did it mean by that?

But before he could say anything else, the floor of his room began cracking down the middle. Then, it broke off, revealing a dark abyss below. The floor continued to break into pieces, starting from the middle. Soon, Ronan's bed had also fallen in and it was only a matter of time before he lost his ground as well. Knowing what would happen, he looked around one last time, seeing Elesis all alone now, hugging herself from the cold of a moonless night.

The first thing Ronan saw when he woke up was a patch of white, sticking out from an expanse of purple.

"Did you sleep well, princess?"

Ronan turned a little to the left to find Lass looking down at him. He could feel hands lifting him from his shoulder and calf. A vein popped.

"You idiot! Who told you to carry me this way?!" Ronan growled at him.

"My, my, that's not very cute at all," the white-haired boy snickered.

"Put me down, now!"

Lass did as told. Upon standing up, Ronan saw that they were already on the move with Jin, Ryan and Elesis on the front, dealing with any random monsters they met. The other three girls were having a conversation of their own some distance in front of them, and Lass took rear guard, despite carrying an unconscious knight. He was still furious with what Lass did, but the assassin was already back to serious business.

"You were not the only one that fainted," he began.

"What? Who else?"

"The three others who didn't bear a necklace."

"Are they alright?" Ronan worried.

"They seem to be. Arme was the first one to wake up, and hugged me right after. I wanted to ask her about it, but she didn't seem up to talking. Well, that was two and a half hours ago, maybe she'll tell now."

"Wait, I was down that long?"

"Surprisingly. Amy was the second to the last to wake up, and she took only an hour to stir. Which means, besides from the obvious conclusion, you were really fatigued yourself with summoning." Lass made an irritated face at the bluenet, enough to actually make the latter sweatdrop.

"Ah, right, sorry. But I really thought I'd be fine."

"Next time, make sure."

The bluenet nodded.

"Finally, you're awake. You're the last person I'll have to interrogate, Ronan," Arme huffed. She had been running towards where the two of them were. She then took the same pace as them.

"You didn't have to run," Lass told her.

"I know, but I kind of got excited that Ronan's awake already," Arme sheepishly replied. "The only one I've got results from was Ryan. Amy doesn't seem to like what happened on her trip to unconsciousness."

"Well, before I tell you mine, mind if you told yours first?" Ronan asked.

"Eh, b-but..."

"It's really emptying to have to tell but not allowed to know what's happening here. I mean, if we had different circumstances and I didn't know about it, I'd assume you were going through the same things as me. And in that case, that would mean you have hidden feelings for Elesis, am I right?"

"W-what?" Arme's face became beet-red.

"So, you do have feelings for her..." Lass murmured in a low tone.

"W-wait, it's not what you think! Ugh, fine, I'll tell you what happened in mine."


	18. Chapter 17 - Beneath the Water

**Chapter 17 - Beneath the Water**

The first thing Arme felt was cold. She was lying down on her stomach, her hands numb. She opened her eyes to find that she had been on a floor of ice. A thick mist surrounded her, preventing her from seeing anything around her.

"Where..."

_I see you're finally awake. But, I think that's quite ironic in this case._

"Huh?" Arme asked. She could notice a silhouette of a boy in front of her. But, before she could notice anything else, the floor before her suddenly cracked. A small sound escaped her lips.

_It seems you don't require further instruction. You're adept enough to break through without slipping to unconsciousness. Or maybe, he wants to show you something?_

"What do you mean by that?" Arme asked the boy in front of him. Surprisingly, he moved, stepping back in shock. The ice gave way beneath her, and she fell in the icy water. The cold was enough to rob her off her energy, her body falling fast like a rock. As she looked up, the boy was on top of the hole she fell from. He plunged his hand, reaching out to her. Her last breath escaped in a big bubble. And her eyes closed off, not strong enough to remain open.

Arme soon felt the water become lighter and much warmer, slowly lifting her up. Her head broke of the surface and she gasped to take in much-needed air. Some of the water went in her mouth and tasted salty.

"That was absolutely weird," she muttered.

She looked around her, searching for shore. If the water is salty, then that means this is sea, she thought. When she saw land, she also saw a familiar setting. Underneath the shade of a palm tree, was a boy wearing an open button shirt that was sky blue in color. Beside him, a girl in a lavender floral blouse was snuggled to his arm.

"Wait, isn't this..." The boy brushed back a lock of violet hair that had strayed the girl's face. "...part of my dreams?"

Just then, another guy came out from behind the tree they were leaning on. He wore a grey shirt with yellow lining and loose pants. But, what struck out the most was his white hair neatly combed to one side, despite being just about the age of twenty. Lass seemed tense just by facing him, but it looked like they were having a conversation. Being so far in the water, Arme couldn't hear any of what they were talking about. It was obvious though, that Lass wasn't pleased at all with it.

The stranger looked at the water. Seeing something interesting, he smiled. Just then, Arme felt the water beneath her swirl. A whirlpool had formed, spinning her around. The current was too strong for her to get out of. Beneath the waves, she felt darkness enveloping her again. But, there was one question that kept nagging at the back of her mind. Who was the other guy?

Ronan woke up again, seeing Ryan had switched out with Lire on the front. He was dragging his axe while talking to Amy. The druid looked back and found Ronan to be awake already, waving his hand and going over to where he was.

This time, Ronan could feel hands supporting him from below his thighs, and a little tilt of his head showed a white-haired boy's face dangerously near enough to brush against.

"ARME!" Ronan shouted. For a moment, Elesis had turned around from the front.

"Yes, Ronan?" the violet mage asked from his right.

"Could you please tell Lass to stop picking me up like this?"

"I did, I swear!"

"Ugh." Ronan resigned his head to Lass' shoulder. "I give up. I feel sluggish after taking two naps in a row."

Lass snickered a bit.

"I thought you were going to tell me, not point a magic beam at me and make me pass out on your boyfriend's back," the magic knight grumbled.

"But I thought it would be quicker than having to retell something so vague. B-besides, uhm..." Arme was fidgeting with her hands clasped in front of her. "That's the first time someone acknowledged me and Lass were a couple."

"Huh?"

"No one's actually called me her boyfriend before," Lass explained.

Arme exhaled to calm herself, and smiled at him. The assassin blushed before looking away to the other side. Ronan was a bit surprised by this side of Lass.

"Uhm, we should get back to topic," Arme told them. "Ronan, may I take the memory of your dream?"

"Oh, uh, go ahead, I guess," Ronan answered. "Wait, if you were just going to do memory analysis, why didn't you get Amy's dream already?"

"Well, she wasn't actually enthusiastic of me knowing her dream."

"I'm not either, exactly."

"Well, you're not denying me from getting this information, are you?"

"I guess you have a point there."

Arme closed her eyes and pointed her staff to Ronan's forehead. A blue ray shot forth towards it, returning with a red shade. After a while, the violet mage opened her eyes.

"That's odd. It's not about Jin this time?" she asked.

Ronan blinked at her. "Does it really have to be?" He buried his face behind Lass, gripping his shoulders tight.

"Something wrong?" Lass asked.

"It's just that I remembered the last dream I had of Jin." The last time they did it, and what he had said in the end. Did he really feel that way about Jin? Then, what about Elesis? "I don't know anymore," he muttered.

"Speaking of things we don't know," Arme cut off, "there was this guy in my dream that I've never seen before talking to Lass."

"What about him?" Ronan asked.

"Well, considering that our dreams are obviously not normal..." She looked at Lass. "Would you happen to know someone with combed white hair wearing grey and yellow?"

Lass almost stumbled and had to jolt Ronan back up before he slipped. "Well, that was specific."

"But, it was how he looked in my dream. And, he was talking to you. So, I figured you might know something."

"Not really. I doubt I've seen anyone the same hair color as mine."

"Come to think of it, High Mage Clara also said that the mysterious boy she saw had white hair."

Lass abruptly halted. "That boy..."

"Huh?" Arme and Ronan both wondered.

"The boy who gave me my necklace. He had white hair."

"Seriously? Maybe I should ask the other necklace-bearers later."

"So, our dreams, the necklaces, and this kidnapping are all connected. Just who are we dealing with?" Ronan muttered.

"Whoever he is, he is very dangerous," Lass said. "I'm starting to wonder if Ronan's dreams from the past week would be part of this as well."

"W-what?!"

"Oh, a piggyback ride this time," Ryan said as he reached them. "The princess pick-up looked bet'er though."

"Not funny, Ryan," Ronan replied. "Lass, put me down. I can walk on my own."

"Don't want to," Lass smartly answered.

Ronan pulled at Lass' hair. He didn't care anymore if he'd land hard on his bottom. He just wanted to get down already.

"Ow, hey! Alright, I'll put you down." Lass bent down a bit for Ronan to put his feet on the ground.

"You two always act like kids whenever you're together," Arme commented.

"Heh, you and Elesis are like that as well, ya know," Ryan told her. "Oh, ya got his dream already?"

Arme nodded.

"Aight, just going to tell ya we're practically near the castle now. You might want to be on higher guard since there's a higher chance of an ambush here."

"Okay, thanks for the heads-up," Ronan replied.

"Actually, speaking of which..." Ryan pointed behind them.

A large group of anmon was running towards them.

"Come to think of it," Ronan pondered, "did we get back-attacks while I was out?"

"None that Arme can't handle," Lass told him, "But I think we'll need more than just fireballs this time."

From time to time, they would glimpse mini-golems behind the anmon.

"This one's going to be tough, huh?" the assassin put his hands on his waist. Just then, he noticed movement from the sides as well. It wasn't just one mob from the back. They were being surrounded by anmon and mini-golems.

"Why do I get the feeling Amy's next prediction is going to be true as well?" Ronan asked.

"Yer not the only one," Ryan sighed. "This is goin' to be another hard battle."


	19. Chapter 18 - Carnation Requiem

**Chapter 18 - Carnation Requiem**

"Amy," Elesis called while panting, "please tell me that we won't get attacked anymore."

"M-me?" the pink girl stuttered.

"Please, **just say** that we **won't** get **attacked** anymore."

"U-uhm, that we won't get attacked anymore."

"Why did you even add 'that'?!"

"But, you said I should say that."

"Ugh, forget it."

The redhead flopped down on her back, her swords on the ground beside her. Everyone was breathing heavily from having to fight dozens of mini-golems and anmons. Ryan and Ronan were on their knees, and Arme and Lire had sat down with their backs on each other.

"We need to get going. The sooner we find what we came for, the sooner we can get out of this deathtrap," Jin said.

Everyone else nodded and continued to move towards the castle.

"How far do we still have to walk?" Amy asked.

"Judgin' our pace, I'd say we'll get there by the next ha'f hour," Ryan stated. "Just don't say anything that could get us in more trouble."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, when you say something might happen, it pretty much does."

"Oh..."

"H-hey, we aren't blamin' ya or anythin'. It's just that it's too weird to be simple coincidence."

"Actually, it's also bothering me. So, I won't take offense about it," Amy wryly smiled.

"Phew, alright, thought you were angry at me." Ryan scratched the back of his head in relief.

"Well, I'm not. But you better watch how long you're talking with someone."

"Huh?"

Amy spun her finger around, telling him to look behind him. Lire was tightly holding the arch of her bow with both hands. Her eyebrows were bunched together, and her eyes were enough to pierce through Ryan. She quickened her pace, leaving the druid behind.

When Ryan looked like he won't be moving at all, Amy kicked him right at the back of his head.

"Ow! That hurt!" Ryan cringed, rubbing the affected area.

"Are you an idiot?" Amy replied. "You better talk to her before it gets complicated in her head. It's obvious she's jealous, so don't make it any worse."

"I guess you're right."

"I know you've just started officially going out yesterday, so you have no idea how this works. -Not to mention, you're a dense guy to begin with- But, if you hurt her feelings, I'm sure you're going to regret it. Understand?"

Ryan nodded, in acknowledgement and thanks, then ran off to catch up with Lire.

The dancer sighed. "Honestly, why don't guys understand something so simple." She looked at Jin, who was a fair distance at the very head of the group. "Just like that guy. He's being too calm about all of this."

"Too calm about what?" Arme suddenly asked from behind her, making the dancer jump.

Amy turned around to face the mage, walking backwards. "Arme, are you a ninja?"

"I think that suits me more," Lass murmured from behind Amy.

"Kyaa, what's up with you two? Stop sneaking up on me like that."

"But, we wanted to talk to you," Arme told her.

"If it's about my dream, I'm really sorry but I'd rather not make it public."

"But, I promise I won't tell."

The pink girl shook her head. "That's not it. Either way, I'll let you know about it in due time." Just then, something vibrated inside her purse. She fished out a golden disc which extended its probe body once it had space. "Good morning, Clockwork. Feeling good?" The probe spun around on its levitating point and jumped.

"I wonder if we'd have left that battle unscathed if it not for his time-stopping power," Arme added.

"Either way, he really helped out back there," the assassin commented.

Clockwork levitated around Amy, making her smile a bit. "Hey, Arme. Can I ask something? If you were able to warp all of us here, why not just do it again and save us the walking distance."

Arme looked down, gripping her staff near her body.

"If a person you had trusted betrayed you," Lass explained, "and you had to kill the person to save others, would you want to go back to the place of her sentence?"

"O-oh. I'm sorry. I was being insensitive out of ignorance."

Arme smiled weakly at her. "It's not your fault you didn't know. You had joined us after it happened, anyway." She looked at the castle that gets nearer with each step they take. "I just hope I'll be strong enough to not back away if something happens in there."

"You are, trust me," Lass told her, putting a hand to her shoulder.

"Aww, sweet," Amy commented. Clockwork nodded beside her.

"What are you getting all starry-eyed for?" the assassin irritatedly turned to her.

She skipped a bit in front of the couple and put her hands behind her back. "Hopefully, I'll also find some to love like that."

"What about Jin, then?"

The dancer turned around with an 'eh?' and stopping. Her view was that of red and blue that shone brighter than the dark violent ground, or the dreary purple sky. She gulped back to relieve her dry throat. "Arme, this time, I don't think it will happen. I know it would."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ronan will break her heart."

Arme froze. "Y-you can't be serious about that."

"I am."

"How can you say that? What makes you so sure about this?" Lass asked her.

"Because," Amy said with an indifferent tone, "I saw it in my dream." She turned to face Clockwork, which tilted its head as it looked at her. She shook her head. You don't need to understand this.

Arme's was apparently stricken with what she had just heard. She wanted to believe the reading of three won't really mean what it had said. She looked to Lass for any form of assurance. What met her was bitter acceptance.

"Like I said, it's inevitable he'll hurt her," Amy reiterated. "But, if he wants to heal the wounds he'll make, he'll have to cure them himself." A gust blew at her, making her hair fly. "Whether he'll choose to save her or not is beyond what I saw in my dream."

"He'll save her!" Arme answered. "I'm sure of it. There's no way Ronan wouldn't."

Lass nodded to reaffirm her. Admittedly, he knew him more than his girlfriend does.

Amy warmly smiled. "Of course he would. I just wonder how he'll find a way to do that."

"Do what?" Ryan asked from behind Amy.

The dancer jumped and ran behind Lass and Arme.

"Ah, sorry, did I startle you?" the druid asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" she replied.

"BOO!" Elesis shouted from behind Amy. Two scared girls scampered to get away from the sound.

"Th-that wasn't nice, you meanie brute," Arme muttered behind Ryan.

"Heh, scaredy cat," Elesis smirked.

"Aight, aight, you can smart-ass each other later. We should focus more on those castle doors that the three of us in front can see already. Well, actually, you should be able to see it as well."

"Oh, we're here already?" Ronan asked.

"No, it's just a mirage." Lass told him.

"Haha, very funny."

"Thanks."


	20. Chapter 19 - Frosty Reception

**Chapter 19 - Frosty Reception**

Ronan pushed open an immense grey door that faintly felt like worn-down stone. The room it led to had no windows to even shed the least bit of light in. Arme made the orb of her staff shine to give them a glimpse of the area. The floor was cracked and chipped in places, some tattered cloth from an unknown source were littered all over. The walls were lined with small torches, but none of them were lit up.

"It's really dark in here," Amy muttered, hugging close to Elesis.

"Amy, clinging to me would only hinder me from an unexpected battle," Elesis quipped.

"But I'm scared!"

"Besides dark, this room is huge," Ronan said.

"It might be a function room of some sort Elena thought in mind," Lass replied. But, right after, he felt guilty. Their light became a bit dimmer. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."

Arme shook her head. "I knew I had to prepare myself, knowing this is her place."

"Ey, d'you think this place was s'posed to be a throne room or somethin'?" Ryan asked.

"There, young druid, an excellent question you have" a mature female voice called from the far end of the room.

"Wait a minute, I know that voice." Jin grunted. "Tsk, so you're the one in charge of this place now?"

"My, my, little Jin. In a while, I haven't see you."

"Cut with the backwards crap, lady. Just give me a solid reason why I shouldn't cut you in half," Lass retorted.

"Ah, you won't hear me out first?"

Ronan put a hand to his shoulder. Reluctantly, Lass relented. The woman chuckled a bit. One by one, the torches lit up with blue flames. The whole room was illuminated to reveal the white marble floor that had greyed over time. Even the columns aren't as clean as they once had. The pieces of fabric were ripped off hems of dresses, a motley of color lying on the ground. Sitting on the throne was the Black Fairy Queen with one leg over the other, draped in black satin.

"Good, a mind to think properly, you have at least."

"Hey, black bug, make no mistake," Elesis brandished one of her dual swords, "tick me off and you're as good as gone."

"Then, cut to the chase, I shall. You've been told the gist by Gorgon, yes?"

"That you have a new master?" Lire asked.

"Yes. And as you might well know, he takes quite a bit of fondness with all of you." She raised her hand and a chilly gust blew in the room. "Without his permission, he won't let us toy with you." She hinted upon borderline boredom. "Upon his lead, we've all gotten stronger. But, alas, there's not much to use it with." Then, a smile lit up her face. "Until he allowed me to test it on you." And that's when she stood up. The temperature of the room went down a little lower.

"Then, what that lizard said about revenge was..." Elesis asked.

"Oh, goodness me. He got it all wrong. He had really wanted to smite you, I fathom. Well, that was given consent as well."

"And the stupid message that makes no sense?" Lass questioned.

"Believe me, dear. It makes no more sense than those necklaces you wear, and everything it has to do with them."

"What are you talking about?" Arme asked.

"My master will let you know with time. But for now," she spread her wings and an icy wind howled before them, "have fun, I will.

"Eek, so cold." Arme said, summoning an Ice Wall in front of her to bar off the wind.

"Are you an idiot?! That's a piece of ice!" Elesis yelled.

A moment later, the ice exploded, pushing back the violet mage. She made a little yelp before landing hard on her bottom. Lass called her name. When she looked up, thousands of ice needles from the explosion hovered above the ground, pointing right at her. Jin ran to right in front of her and summoned his chi. The needles fired towards the fighter, who was emitting a burning aura all around him, making the needles immediately melt.

"Ahaha, I've barely done anything yet," the black fairy said. "Alas, I'm prohibited from ending any of your lives. But nicks and scratches can be healed, no?"

Elesis rushed forward and slashed at the black fairy. Although, everytime she swung her sword, her enemy would teleport a moment before getting hit. "Argh, stay still you black bug."

"It's not good to be as slow as you, I'm afraid." Her eyes were focused on Elesis' feet. A spike of ice jutted out from where she was looking. The sword-girl was able to notice it, but wasn't fast enough to avoid getting a cut to her cheek. The black fairy blew in one breath, forming a blue ball that resembled a fireball.

Arme fired a fireball in the direction the blue ball was going towards.

"You idiot! Can't you get your elements right?" Elesis shouted at her.

The two balls collided and made a small explosion of snowflakes and embers.

"She only uses ice, remember?" Arme replied.

Lire shot a flaming arrow straight to the fairy. Miraculously, it hit her, making her stagger back. But, she had recovered in a flash.

"We need more firepower," Ryan stated.

"Hey, Ronan, you won't faint this time, would you?" Lass asked.

"All right, I get it. I'll conserve my mana. But, they really need help," Ronan muttered. He raised his right hand above him. "Feldspar!" The dragon's glyph appeared above him, and summoned a red aerial dragon by his side.

"Pfft, you called him 'Feldspar'?" Lass snickered.

The fairy queen fired off numerous ice arrows in quick succession. Instinctively, Feldspar breathed fire to vaporize anything that had to do with ice, including beating his wings to remove the gust that kept the whole area colder than usual.

"Ah, so this dragon is to be my match?" the black fairy asked. "But, I wonder 'til how long you'll be able to hold him out, mage knight. Extensive summoning, whether temporal or spatial, may lead to fatigue." She blew a chilling breath that could freeze anything it touched.

Ronan willed for Feldspar to breathe fire once more to repel it. Anything she frosted, he thawed. "Feldspar, Blast Wave!" The dragon ceased to spew flames, letting the chill creep slowly towards them. Instead, it fired a crimson fireball. The concentrated heat was like a bolt hitting the fairy queen with full force. It fired a second ball that made her lose the power to fly. A third and last fireball came out to send her flying a short distance beside her throne.

Ronan fell down, having to support himself with his sword. His dragon had vanished.

Black Fairy Queen tried to get up, while she heard a little girl singing ''la lala lalaa laa". Then, the sound of a wooden pole hitting a head.

"She's knocked out!" Amy reported.

Everyone was relieved that the fight was over.

"I'll check the place for mana trails, specifically the black fairy queen's or our perpetrator,"  
Arme said. "If she's got a boss, then they must have a hideout somewhere." She ran off towards the throne and began inspection.

"Tsk, honestly," Lass griped, "weren't you summoning instead of using your sword skills since you said they use more energy?"

"In paper, yes," Ronan sheepishly answered. The assassin could only make a mental facepalm at him.

"But, we can't rest yet though," Lire said. "Despite this being a building, it's not exactly safe from monsters."

"Yeah, we should get out of here as soon as Arme finishes with finding leads," Elesis added.

_"Leaving so soon? You just got here."_

At the sound of that voice, everyone looked instinctively at the Black Fairy Queen. She was hovering over the ground once again, but it didn't look like her wings fluttered. Rather, something glowed with a blue light in her chest.

_"Please, relax. I may be taking possession of her body, but I am no ghost. In fact, I might just say I'm a living person with something special."_

"You... Are you...?" Lire tried to ask.

_"The one you're looking for? Heh, guilty as charged."_

"Where's my grandfather?!" Elesis shouted.

_"My, you're quite impatient. That takes the fun out of everything. Speaking of which..."_

A black pool was forming below Black Fairy Queen's feet.

_"I'm really bored right now. So, why don't we have some fun? Heh."_

At that last word, the darkness beneath her expanded to engulf the whole room in an abyssal dome.


	21. Chapter 20 - Inevitability

**Chapter 20 - Inevitability**

Ronan had instinctively put his hands in front of him when the darkness surrounded them. He peeked to find himself standing in an expanse of black. No matter where he looked, he couldn't see anything, save for himself. Another thing had also caught his attention: everyone was gone.

"Guys, where are you? Elesis? Lass?" he shouted.

He ran blindly in the darkness, calling out their names, in vain. It seemed like the darkness had no end. Sometimes, the ground he stepped on didn't level out like a plane. What he touched and felt all around him was unknown to him, and he was getting overly tense about it. He ended up thinking about how the others are doing in this abyss, especially Elesis.

_"Scared yet of being alone?"_

Ronan's eyebrows furrowed.

_"Hahaha. I wonder how long you'll keep that fearless expression in your face."_

"As long as it takes to get us all out of here," the magic knight replied

_"How chivalrous. To think you had barely recovered from extensively summoning a winged dragon, and now you have the knack to say you'll lead everyone out."_

The disembodied voice was right in one thing. Summoning had taken a bit out of him. But, that didn't mean he can't search for a way out of this illusion. "As a knight, my duty is to protect those that I care about, even if it's the last thing I'll do."

_"The last thing you'll do... Very interesting."_

Ronan heard a girl shouting behind him.

"You okay, Miss Amy?" Jin asked the dancer gripping tightly to his arm.

"I think so. It's just that I find this place too dark that it's scary," she admitted.

"Well, we are actually kind of lost in this darkness." Amy gripped his arm harder. "Ah, but don't worry, I'll protect you."

"You promise?"

The red-headed fighter nodded.

_"How sweet."_

Amy hid herself behind Jin, looking warily all around them. "Sh-show yourself, you coward," she forced out.

_"You're not very convincing, girlie."_

"Then, just come out so we can fight you already!" Jin yelled.

_"That's more like it. But, as tempting as that sounds, that's not quite possible. Just because I'm talking to you doesn't exactly mean I'm in your present area."_

"Then where are you?"

_"Isn't that what you're supposed to find out for yourself?"_

Jin was ticked. Amy was tapping his shoulder. She pointed in front of them. There was a guy some distance away from them. They both nodded towards each other, and charged towards their target.

"It's going to take us forever to find the others," Elesis griped, leading the two elves behind her.

"Well, you never know. They might turn up sooner than expected. I mean, we found you just after a few moments of walking," Lire cheered.

"How do you even get to stay that optimistic in this kind of situation?"

"Aren't I always?"

"Oh, thought that it was because of someone's warm hand."

Lire's checks burned when she realized that she and Ryan had been holding hands the whole time Elesis was with them. Since they had a mutual understanding of each other's feelings, she thought it would be fine. But the sword-girl in front of her was making her think otherwise.

"Hey, Ryan, you're being quieter than usual," Elesis mentioned.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that. It's jus' been buggin' me since we got taken in by this darkness," he muttered

"Well, spill it." The two girls looked expectantly at him, stopping their feet from going forward.

"Uh, 'kay then," he nervously started. "Lire, you remember what I told you and Arme when I woke up after gettin' knocked out a while ago?"

"Uhm, you only told me. Arme took the memory with magic," Lire cleared.

"Argh, specifics. An'ways, I was talking about a voice talking to me, right?"

"What about it?" Ryan crossed his arms and waited for it to dawn on her. "You can't mean that's the same voice as the one that possessed Black Fairy Queen a while ago?"

The druid nodded. "An' considerin' he has admitted bein' Sieghart's kidnapper..." He looked at Elesis.

"Wait a minute, are you saying this guy who keeps talking from that black bug's mouth is-"

_"The one who has your grandfather held captive?"_

Elesis turned around. The Black Fairy Queen was there. But, her constantly irritating smile was gone. Her eyes were slits, looking like they lack the energy to fully open. She was also not levitating with her wings as usual. In fact, her wings weren't even twitching either.

"Just who are you?" Elesis asked, swords drawn.

_A male sigh. "It's so hard having to repeat explaining this. My physical body is not here, so hurting this fay woman would do you little good. I'd just lose my host body. Furthermore, I'd prefer to keep my identity secret, so you'll get nothing out of me."_

"Why, you! Why kidnap my grandfather even?"

_"Why? I guess it's because I found your group interesting. As for my choice of hostage, he was the most convenient one to take, lounging around in an open area."_

Are you kidding me, Elesis wondered. Even Lass can't sneak up to that guy when asleep.

_"If I explained what I can do to you, you'd understand how I accosted Sieghart, no? Nah, you might find out who I am."_

"Oi, oi. You lead all the monsters to a rampage just 'coz you found us interestin'?" Ryan asked.

"Don't you know how much harm you've put everyone through, and you're only reason to do this is for entertainment?" Lire included.

A side of the fairy's lips turned up a bit.

_"Did I mention you were only for me to have fun with? I simply said you were interesting. It might be better to call you experimental subjects than playthings."_

"Experimental subjects?" Elesis repeated.

_"You can say there's something that I'd want to find out for myself. And you children would allow me to learn it."_

"Whatever it is, we want no part of it!" she retorted. The elves nodded in agreement. Two lights began to glow intensely. One was red, the other lime, from beneath the girls' clothes located at the center of their chests. Elesis pulled her necklace out to see how bright it shone.

_"You had no choice once you took them."_

"Well, we don't want it anymore!" She snapped the cord. "You can have it back!" She threw it hard towards the black fairy. But, before it even flew halfway, it suddenly stopped flying and became stationary.

_"Uh, uh. I can't let that happen. You'd realize its importance in time. But for now..."_

Lire yelped as her necklace forcefully pulled itself away from her. She gasped as she held her neck with one hand, while Ryan was helping her stay up. The lime necklace floated a foot beside the red one. And after a while, the Elesis' fiercely ignited while Lire's seemed to will a gust around itself.

"The heck?" Ryan muttered.

_"Consider this your first test."_

The flames grew to engulf a space ten times the size of its necklace, and so did the gusts, that were starting to blow at their hair and tug at their clothes. They could only remain fixated as the two necklaces began to come closer. The winds fanned the flames, increasing the effective area where it could burn.

_"The fire that burns in the sky. Its most important product is light. It shines upon shadows, to allow sight."_

The sphere of fire dissipated, and out of it came a shining silhouette of a small ball. Inside, the two necklaces were spinning rapidly together in the center.

_"The sun can find the truth, and can eliminate secrets. Now, let's see how you fight the truth."_

The ball fired a beam of light towards the three of them. It was a slow moving laser that was easy enough to be dodged, despite moving a straight line. Elesis was irritated with its speed and abruptly cut the beam in half.

_"So, you understand how it works? The test will now commence."_

The ball shone brighter, and fired off beams in quick succession all around it. They were still slow-moving, but their density made them deadly.

Elesis gritted her teeth as she sliced at those coming towards the three of them with Ryan . Lire took careful aim to fire stopshots. A beam slightly grazed upon a stray lock of Elesis' hair, and it instantly evaporated.

"Dang, we gotta be careful in takin' care of this thing," Ryan warned.

"It's a symbol of light. Persistent and radiant," Lire explained while nocking arrows. "How do you stop something like that?"

"There's a way," Elesis told them. She hacked at another beam with one of her blades. It seemed their weapons were the only things that could hit the rays without getting destroyed. "We just have to break it."


	22. Chapter 21 - What Happened Before

**Chapter 21 - What Happened Before**

_"The water that nurtures life, and the earth from where it comes."_

The water necklace rose high up, trailing rain where it went. The earth necklace below it formed a plane all around it where leaves rose from wherever the raindrops fell.

"So, let me get this straight. We're fighting sprouts?" Lass chided

"Be wary, it might be something you won't expect," Jin told him. The assassin looked at him incredulously. "This darkness makes things hard to see. I thought I explained that."

"Eek, guys! Look out!" Amy yelled.

They both looked just in time to evade a vine from whipping their heads.

"Guess you win that argument," Lass answered before dashing towards the now-amassed flora that elongated several vines it would use to attack them.

_"Its sources may be innate, but it learns to adapt with its circumstances. Hehe. Wish you luck."_

Half of the vines buried themselves upon the ground.

The rune faded. Arme turned to face him and shook her head. "It's so hard to get a reading when everything has its own aura."

"You mean this darkness?"

She nodded. "It could be a form of illusion magic that increases area. The room we were in before wasn't this expansive."

_"Despite being basic, those are some good observational skills you have."_

Ronan looked up. "I was wondering when you'd talk again. What do you want?"

_"Nothing much, just some test subjects I could use to learn what I want to know."_

"Test subjects?" Arme asked. Her eyes widened. "What have you done to our friends?"

_"You're really keen, girl. Well, since you asked, I've had them fight a couple of the creatures I've summoned."_

"Fighting?" Ronan hands fisted. "Where are they?" They could be in trouble right now, he thought.

_"Relax, their fights just started. And it looks like they won't be getting fatigued anytime soon. But by then, how long would it have taken you to find them?"_

"He's right, Ronan. We'd have to hurry." Arme was getting anxious.

"But we can't go blindly in this darkness," the bluenet replied. He wanted to help as well, but that would be a slim chance without something to show them the way.

_"And that is why I'll be testing you two as well."_

From where Ronan and Arme were, two paths of light traced separate ways. One was straight and pointed towards the right. The other one slanted to the left with the shape of a wave. They both ended with doorways that were shining at the edges, but hollow and darkened at the centers.

Ronan and Arme's thoughts were invaded by scenes of fighting. Elesis, Ryan, and Lire were trying to dodge and destroy slow-moving beams of light that were covering the whole area they were in. Lass slashes on the vines were quickly regenerated. Jin could only block off so much of the attacks from the other parts of the plant-mass. And Amy's dancing narrowly avoided vines while desperately keeping the other two boys energy up.

_"Take the straight path to light or the twined way of life. The doors will close after you make your choice. Now, who will you save."_

"Ronan..." Arme gripped on the sleeve of Ronan's shirt. There was evident worry in her expression.

He had to pick. And it wasn't just any decision. On one side was the one he loved, the girl he fell for. And on the other was his trusted companion, the one who understood him and his situation. One choice could mean the loss of the other.

His mind was already set. It only mattered how long it would take for him to accept his decision. And the longer he stayed still, the greater was the chance he won't be able to save either one of them. Especially...

"Arme, I have an idea," he told her.

* * *

A/N: I hate myself for always being really late for the update, not to mention this is extremely short. It's so weird that I allowed a chapter to be this short. Well, I'll still count this as one down, and two more chapters to go before yaoi. I'll fix the former chapters for now.


	23. This is more of an IOU note

A/N: Sigh, so much stuff to do in the physical world. Uhm, guess that means updates won't be weekly now. But, I'll still try to update as fast as I can. I want to see this story through to the end.

Well, uhm, if you have any comments, suggestion, or recommendations (grammatical, plot-wise, or otherwise), please feel free to use your reviews for it.


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